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QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS JULY - SEPTEMBER 2012 (Updated: 16/11/2012)
CURRENT ACCOUNT
The current account balance recorded a lower surplus of RM9.5 billion for the period of July - September 2012, as compared to RM9.6 billion in the preceding quarter. This lower surplus was reflected in:
- Goods account: lower surplus RM25.5 billion (Q2 2012: RM29.4 billion); and
- Current transfers: the net payments widened to RM4.7 billion (Q2 2012: -RM4.6 billion).
Meanwhile, income and services account recorded lower net payments of RM7.9 billion (Q2 2012: -RM11.7 billion) and RM3.4 billion (Q2 2012: -RM3.6 billion), respectively.
Year-on-year, the surplus on current account balance declined by RM17.9 billion to register RM9.5 billion from RM27.4 billion in Q3 2011. This was due to a lower surplus on goods by RM12.2 billion, and higher net outflow on both income and services by RM4.0 billion and RM2.3 billion, respectively. Meanwhile, current transfers recorded lower net payments by RM0.5 billion from -RM5.3 billion in Q3 2011.
During January - September 2012, the current account balance recorded RM37.2 billion, reduced by RM37.6 billion from RM74.7 billion posted in the same period of 2011. This was attributed to:
- Goods account : lower surplus of RM90.7 billion (2011: RM111.2 billion);
- Services account : higher net payments of RM10.7 billion (2011: -RM4.3 billion); and
- Income account : higher net payments of RM28.2 billion (2011: -RM16.6 billion).
Goods Account
In the quarter under review, the goods account registered a lower surplus of RM25.5 billion as compared to RM29.4 billion in the previous quarter. This was due to decrease in exports f.o.b by 1.8 per cent relative to increase in imports f.o.b by 0.5 per cent.
- Exports f.o.b decreased to RM174.4 billion compared to RM177.7 billion in Q2 2012. This was mainly contributed by lower exports for crude petroleum, palm oil & palm oil based products and rubber products. The top three exports destinations were Singapore, The People's Republic of China, and Japan.
- Imports f.o.b increased slightly to RM148.9 billion (Q2 2012: RM148.2 billion). The share of imports by end-use for three major categories was intermediate goods (64.3 per cent), capital goods (16.5 per cent), and consumption goods (8.0 per cent). The top three imports sources were The People's Republic of China, Singapore, and Japan.
Year-on-year, the surplus on goods decreased by RM12.2 billion to RM25.5 billion from RM37.7 billion recorded in the same quarter last year. This was due to increase in imports f.o.b by RM10.0 billion to RM148.9 billion (Q3 2011: RM138.9 billion) and decrease in exports f.o.b by RM2.3 billion to RM174.4 billion (Q3 2011: RM176.7 billion).
Cumulatively for three quarters, exports f.o.b rose by RM10.6 billion or 2.1 per cent to RM526.1 billion while imports f.o.b rose by 7.7 per cent or RM31.1 billion to RM435.3 billion. This had resulted in a lower surplus on goods account of RM90.7 billion from RM111.2 billion in the same period of 2011.
Services Account
In Q3 2012, exports of services remained the same as previous quarter to register RM28.9 billion. This constitute of:
- transportation : RM3.4 billion (Q2 2012: RM3.3 billion);
- travel : RM14.8 billion (Q2 2012: RM14.4 billion); and
- other services : RM10.7 billion (Q2 2012: RM11.0 billion), mainly contributed by other business services RM6.2 billion, computer and information services RM1.5 billion, and construction services RM1.0 billion.
Meanwhile imports of services recorded RM32.3 billion, a decrease of RM0.1 billion from RM32.4 billion registered last quarter. The components that contributed to total payments of services account were:
- transportation : RM10.2 billion (Q2 2012: RM10.4 billion);
- travel : RM9.1 billion (Q2 2012: RM9.0 billion); and
- other services : RM12.8 billion (Q2 2012: RM12.8 billion), mainly contributed by other business services of RM6.2 billion, construction services of RM1.6 billion, and both royalties & license fees and computer & information services of RM1.2 billion each.
On net basis, the services account recorded lower net payments of RM3.4 billion from RM3.6 billion last quarter. This was mainly due to lower net payments on transportation by RM0.3 billion and higher net receipts on travel by RM0.2 billion.
Year-on-year, exports on services increased marginally by 0.3 per cent to RM28.9 billion from RM28.8 billion in Q3 2011, whilst imports on services recorded higher payments increased by 7.8 per cent to RM32.3 billion from RM29.9 billion a year ago. This led to higher net payments by RM2.3 billion to -RM3.4 billion from -RM1.1 billion in the same period last year. This was mainly due to lower net receipts of travel account by RM2.2 billion.
In the first nine months of 2012, exports of services widened to RM85.7 billion, an increase of 5.7 per cent from RM81.1 billion, while imports recorded RM96.4 billion (2011: RM85.3 billion), an increase of 13.0 per cent. On net basis, services account saw higher net payments of RM10.7 billion from RM4.3 billion. This was attributed to lower net receipts on travel by RM3.4 billion and higher net payments on both transportation and other services by RM1.9 billion and RM1.2 billion, respectively.
Income Account
During July - September 2012, the income receipts recorded RM11.4 billion increased by RM2.5 billion from RM9.0 billion in Q2 2012. Compensation of employees remained RM1.0 billion and investment income attained RM10.4 billion (Q2 2012: RM8.0 billion). The investment income comprises of:
- direct investment abroad (DIA): higher receipts of RM3.8 billion (Q2 2012: RM3.5 billion), mainly generated from financial & insurance, oil & gas, and information & communication sectors;
- portfolio investment: higher receipts of RM1.3 billion (Q2 2012: RM0.8 billion); and
- other investment: higher receipts of RM5.4 billion (Q2 2012: RM3.6 billion).
However, income payments (debit) recorded RM19.4 billion, decreased by RM1.3 billion from RM20.7 billion in Q2 2012. Of the total payments, compensation of employees recorded RM1.8 billion (Q2 2012: RM1.6 billion) while investment income posted RM17.6 billion (Q2 2012: RM19.0 billion). The investment income was derived from:
- foreign direct investment (FDI): lower payments of RM14.6 billion (Q2 2012: RM15.4 billion), mainly generated from manufacturing, financial & insurance, and oil & gas sectors;
- portfolio investment: lower payments of RM2.5 billion (Q2 2012: RM2.8 billion); and
- other investment: lower payments of RM0.4 billion (Q2 2012: RM0.8 billion).
On net basis, the income account deficit reduced to RM7.9 billion from RM11.7 billion previously. This was primarily due to a lower net payments in investment income amounting to RM7.2 billion (Q2 2012: -RM11.1 billion), while compensation of employees recorded higher net payments of RM0.7 billion (Q2 2012: -RM0.6 billion).
Year-on-year, income receipts (credit) decreased by RM2.5 billion to RM11.4 billion from RM14.0 billion in the same period last year. Meanwhile, income payments (debit) increased by RM1.4 billion to RM19.4 billion from RM17.9 billion previously. This led to higher net payments by RM4.0 billion to RM7.9 billion from RM3.9 billion.
On cumulative basis, for the period January - September 2012, income receipts (credit) declined by RM7.3 billion to RM30.1 billion (2011: RM37.4 billion) whereas income payments (debit) increased by RM4.3 billion to RM58.3 billion (2011: RM54.0 billion). This resulted to higher net payments by RM11.6 billion to RM28.2 billion (2011: -RM16.6 billion).
Current Transfers
In the third quarter 2012, both receipts and payments decreased to record RM1.4 billion (Q2 2012: RM2.3 billion) and RM6.1 billion (Q2 2012: RM6.9 billion), respectively. On net basis, this account recorded higher net payments RM4.7 billion (Q2 2012: -RM4.6 billion).
Year-on-year, net payments narrowed by RM0.5 billion from RM5.3 billion a year ago. Current transfers receipts recorded RM1.4 billion (Q3 2011:RM1.3 billion), while payments posted RM6.1 billion (Q3 2011:RM6.5 billion). The first nine months of the year saw the net payments on current transfers decreased by 6.3 per cent to RM14.6 billion from RM15.6 billion recorded in the same period of last year.
CAPITAL ACCOUNT
In Q3 2012, the net outflow decreased to RM42.0 million from RM67.0 million last quarter. This was due to lower outflow on both capital transfers and nonproduced nonfinancial assets which recorded RM24.0 million (Q2 2012: -RM34.0 million) and RM18.0 million (Q2 2012: -RM33.0 million), respectively.
Year-on-year, the capital account recorded lower net outflow by RM17.0 million to RM42.0 million from RM58.0 million last year. Meanwhile, during January - September 2012, capital account experienced higher net outflow of RM275.0 million from RM139.0 million posted in the same period of last year.
FINANCIAL ACCOUNT
In the current quarter, the financial account reverted to a net outflow of RM8.7 billion from net inflow of RM5.4 billion reported previously. This was due to a swing in both portfolio investment from net outflow of RM5.0 billion to net inflow of RM27.6 billion and other investment to net outflow of RM38.1 billion from net inflow of RM5.9 billion. On the contrary, direct investment recorded lower inflow RM1.9 billion from RM3.5 billion.
Year-on-year, the financial account registered a lower net outflow by RM13.8 billion to RM8.7 billion from RM22.5 billion posted in the corresponding period of last year. This was mainly due to a turnaround in portfolio investment to an inflow of RM27.6 billion from an outflow of RM28.0 billion.
Cumulatively for the three quarters, financial account switched to a net outflow of RM13.6 billion from a net inflow of RM22.5 billion. The main contributor to the reversal was due to higher net outflow of other investment amounting to RM58.3 billion (2011: -RM4.4 billion).
Direct Investment
Direct investment posted a lower net inflow of RM1.9 billion from RM3.5 billion during previous quarter. Both DIA and FDI recorded higher investments, of which:
- DIA: a higher net outflow of RM7.7 billion from RM2.5 billion previously. The investments were largely reflected by financial & insurance, wholesale & retail trade, real estate, and oil & gas sectors. The top three immediate investing countries were Singapore, United Kingdom, and Thailand.
- FDI: a higher net inflow of RM9.6 billion from RM6.1 billion in Q2 2012. The investments were mainly channelled into manufacturing and oil & gas sectors. The top three sources of FDI were Singapore, United States, and Australia.
Year-on-year, direct investment showed a reversal to a net inflow RM1.9 billion from a net outflow RM3.9 billion. This was mainly attributed to lower net outflow in DIA amounting to RM7.7 billion from RM13.0 billion last year.
In the first nine months of 2012, direct investment experienced higher net outflow by RM2.2 billion to RM4.0 billion (2011: -RM1.8 billion). Both DIA and FDI recorded lower investments of RM27.1 billion (2011: -RM32.0 billion) and RM23.2 billion (2011: RM30.1 billion), respectively.
Portfolio Investment
Portfolio investment recorded a net inflow of RM27.6 billion, turned around from net outflow of RM5.0 billion previously. Similarly, year-on-year, portfolio investment switched to net inflow from net outflow of RM28.0 billion in Q3 2011.
Meanwhile, for the period January - September 2012, portfolio investment recorded higher net inflow of RM47.9 billion from RM28.4 billion posted in the same period last year.
Other Investment
In Q3 2012, other investment reversed to an outflow of RM38.1 billion from net inflow of RM5.9 billion registered last quarter. This was mainly due to a reversal in private sector investments to a net outflow RM38.0 billion from a net inflow of RM6.1 billion.
Year-on-year, other investment turned around to net outflow of RM38.1 billion from net inflow RM9.7 billion attained in the same period of 2011. Such circumstances were solely reflected by a reversal of private sector investments to net outflow of RM38.0 billion from net inflow of RM10.2 billion in Q3 2011. Meanwhile, for the period of January to September 2012, other investment recorded a substantial outflow of RM58.3 billion against RM4.4 billion in 2011.
Reserve Assets
The international reserves of Bank Negara Malaysia decreased RM7.5 billion in Q3 2012 as compared to an increase of RM12.7 billion in Q2 2012, stood at RM421.3 billion as at end of September 2012.
Download : | Table 1: Malaysia - Quarterly Balance Of Payments (Net), 2010 - 2012 |  |  |
| Table 2: Malaysia - Components Of The Current Account, 2010 - 2012 | | | |
| Table 3: Malaysia - Components Of The Capital & Financial Account And Reserve Assets, 2010 - 2012 | | |
