Malaysian Growth Surprises as Manufacturing Defies US Tariff

Malaysia’s economy expanded faster than expected in the fourth quarter, helping full-year growth beat official estimates, as robust services and manufacturing helped counter the impact of tough US tariffs.

Gross domestic product grew 5.7% in the October-December period from a year earlier, according to advance estimates from Malaysia’s Department of Statistics on Friday. That beat the 5.4% median prediction in a Bloomberg survey. For the full year, the economy expanded 4.9%, above the government’s forecast of 4% to 4.8% expansion. The final figures will be released on Feb. 13.