SHAH ALAM, Aug 5 — Selangor’s total trade rose by 14.2 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM806.3 billion in the first half of this year (1H2023) from RM706.02 billion in 1H2022, making it the largest contributor to Malaysia’s economic growth.
Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said at the same time, exports rose 9.1 per cent y-o-y to RM360.04 per cent from RM330.1 billion in 1H2022, noting that Selangor has continued to maintain its positive momentum since 2021 to June 2023
He was speaking at a press conference after launching Selangor’s Miti Open Day 2023, earlier today.
In his speech, Tengku Zafrul said over the past 50 years, Selangor has become a manufacturing hub for various industries such as automotive, electrical and electronics, logistics services, aerospace and pharmaceuticals over the past 50 years.
“As a result, it has a mature value chain ecosystem which helped the growth of many local companies, including small and medium enterprises, and the economic spillovers led to the development of towns such as Serenia City, Gamuda Cove, Setia Alam Sari and Serene Heights, among others,” he said.
Meanwhile, Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari is confident that Selangor will remain the largest contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) this year, with its total contribution surpassing 25.5 per cent recorded in 2022.
He said Selangor’s strong foundations proved to be an advantage in economic development activities compared to other states.
“I believe Selangor will remain the biggest contributor to the economy, at least in the next three to four years,” Amirudin said.
He added if the Selangor Five Determinations for Five Years (Selangor 5 Tekad) development framework gets the mandate to continue after next week’s state election, Selangor will be able to continue to be the biggest contributor to the country’s GDP for the next five to 10 years.
“There are two important sectors in Selangor, namely manufacturing and services, and we want to drive further growth for the manufacturing and service sectors,” Amirudin said.
— Bernama
