KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's manufacturing sector sales grew 9.3 percent year-on-year to 524.8 billion ringgit (128.23 billion U.S. dollars) in the second quarter of 2026, accelerating from 5.5 percent growth in the first quarter, official data showed Tuesday.

File photo: AFP

For the first half of 2026, manufacturing sales rose 7.4 percent year-on-year to 1.03 trillion ringgit, compared with 3.7 percent growth in the same period last year, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement.

In June alone, manufacturing sales increased 9.8 percent year-on-year to 177 billion ringgit, accelerating from 8.9 percent growth in May.

The increase was led by the electrical and electronics products sub-sector, which grew 18.7 percent.

Growth was also supported by the petroleum, chemical, rubber, and plastic products sub-sector, which rose 4.8 percent year-on-year. The food, beverages, and tobacco sub-sector also rebounded, with a growth of 2.2 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, manufacturing sales rose 2.5 percent in June, from 172.7 billion ringgit in May. (1 ringgit equals 0.24 U.S. dollars)