KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Malaysia’s current-account surplus narrowed sharply in the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q2023), as the primary income deficit widened, while the financial account suffered a net outflow.
The current-account surplus totalled RM253.4 million in the October-December period, compared with RM9.14 billion in the preceding three months, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement. In 4Q2022, the current-account surplus stood at RM27.5 billion.
Malaysia’s primary income account registered a deficit of RM20.9 billion, compared with RM11.0 billion in the previous quarter, largely due to higher net payments from direct investment. The secondary income account also recorded a larger deficit of RM2.3 billion.
The financial account, meanwhile, slipped into a net outflow of RM19.9 billion in the latest quarter, from a net inflow of RM14.9 billion in 3Q2023, mainly due to outflows in other investment and financial derivatives. Portfolio investment posted a net outflow of RM6.4 billion.