by NURUL SUHAIDI / pic by TMR

MALAYSIA’S gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) registered a value of RM278.7 billion (constant prices) in 2021 compared to RM281.2 billion in 2020, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement today that GFCF contracted by a marginal 0.9% in 2021 compared to a negative 14.4% in 2020.

“The gradual recovery of GFCF encouraged a higher economic capacity, thus increasing potential output in the long run, given that GFCF was the second-largest component of GDP with a share of 20.1% of the total economy,” he said.

The GFCF for 2015-2021, statistics are compiled and published according to the type of economic activity, type of assets and public and private sectors.

Mohd Uzir said for GFCF in 2021, all sectors recorded negative growth except for the manufacturing sector which rose 8%.

He noted that the manufacturing sector continued favorable performance supported by petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products, electrical and electronics, and optical products transport equipment segment which rebounded to 9.7% and 5.9% respectively.

GFCF in the services sector diminished 1.3% from a negative 12.4% in the preceding year.

The decline in this sector was influenced by finance, insurance, real estate and business services activities, which deteriorated 4.6% in 2021.

Furthermore, the GFCF for the mining and quarrying sector also dropped 14.7% in 2021 from a downturn of 25.7% in the previous year.

The construction sector also tumbled 1.1%, slower than the 2.6% decrease in 2020.

Similarly, the downward trend was also seen in the agriculture sector, which contracted marginally by 0.7% compared to a negative 8.9% in 2020, attributed to lethargic performance across all sub-sectors.

According to the report, the private sector remained the main impetus to GFCF, contributing 77.6% of the total, representing a growth of 2.6% over the prior year, led by the services and manufacturing activities.

However, the public sector, which made up 22.4% of the total, saw a decline of 11.3% in 2021.

He said services and manufacturing activities were the main contributors to GFCF of the private sector and the share of services activity increased to 63% (2020: 62.9%).

“Furthermore, with a share of 22.2% compared to 21% in the prior year, the manufacturing activity maintains its position as the second-greatest contributor,” Mohd Uzir added.

In the meantime, 14.8% of the overall GFCF of the private sector came from other activities.