Total International Trade In Services Up 1.8 Pct To US$70.1 Bln In 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's total international trade in services rose by 1.8 per cent to US$70.18 billion (RM291.1 billion) last year,said the Statistics Department. (US$1 = RM4.14) In a statement Friday, the department said, this represented 25.2 per cent of gross domestic product at current prices compared to 25.8 per cent in 2014. It said exports of services in 2015 registered RM135.1 billion, a decrease of 1.9 per cent from 2014. Imports of services, however, rose by 5.2 per cent to RM156 billion, it said. "This led to services trade deficit of RM21 billion from RM10.7 billion in 2014," it said. The department said the major services components which contributed to exports and imports in 2015 were transport, travel, telecommunications, computer and information as well as other business services. On the exports side, the contributions of these four components accounted for 86.1 per cent while for imports, the share amounted to 79.3 per cent. It said the major regional markets for Malaysia's services exports were Asean (46.1 per cent); Asia, excluding Asean (32.6 per cent); Europe (14.9 per cent); and, America (11.5 per cent). Malaysia's main sources of services imports were Asean (36.3 per cent); Asia, excluding Asean (32.6 per cent); Europe (14.9 per cent); and, America (11.5 per cent). -- BERNAMA