KUALA LUMPUR (June 25): Malaysia’s economy continues to signal an optimistic prospect in the near term, as reflected in the performance of the leading index (LI), which increased by 1.29% to 115.0 points in April 2026, compared with 113.5 points in the same month last year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said this increase was driven by the positive performance of several components, particularly the number of housing units approved of 35.5%. 

“However, the incline was tempered by declines in three other components, which affected the overall growth momentum,” he said.

On a monthly basis, Mohd Uzir said the LI increased by 1.25%  in April 2026, supported by the number of new companies registered and the real imports of semiconductors, each contributing 0.9%, in line with the development of technology-based economic activities and sustained demand for the electrical and electronics sector.

”Looking at the smoothed long-term trend in April 2026, the LI remained below 100.0 points, reflecting an  optimistic economic growth outlook amid ongoing global uncertainties.

“Nevertheless, continued investment activities as well as demand related to digital technology and data  centres are expected to remain as catalyst for the country’s economic growth,” he added.

During the same period, Mohd Uzir said the coincident index (CI), which gauges current economic conditions, climbed by 2.6% to 131.6 points in April 2026 from 128.3 points in the same month of the previous year, driven by increases across all components, particularly the Industrial Production Index, which rose by 8.3%.

From a monthly perspective, the CI increased by 0.9% as compared to 0.8% in the previous month, driven by the industrial production index (0.6%) and capacity utilisation in manufacturing (0.5%).

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