KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's leading index for April maintained its positive annual growth at a rate of 0.5 percent, registering 113.6 points compared to 113 points in the same month of the previous year, official data showed Tuesday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia said in a statement that the month saw double-digit increases in the real imports of semiconductors and the number of new companies registered.
Simultaneously, the monthly performance of the leading index recorded an increase for the second consecutive month, with 0.8 percent, supported by a 0.5 percent rise in the number of new companies registered.
Regarding the current economic performance, the coincident index posted an annual uptrend of 1 percent, reaching 126.7 points in April compared to 125.4 points in the same month of the previous year.
This growth was driven by the improvements in five out of six components, particularly the capacity utilization in manufacturing.
Conversely, on a monthly basis, the coincident index slipped by 0.1 percent. ■