Senior minister for economy Mohamed Azmin Ali said exports to the US had also grown to its highest in the past decade.

“There was significant export growth to emerging markets, notably Costa Rica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

“Rubber products, electrical and electronics products, as well as palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products registered strong export expansion,” he said in a statement today.

He added that Malaysia recorded its highest ever trade surplus, continuing its surplus trend for 23 consecutive years since 1998, noting that the nation’s performance was in tandem with regional neighbours like Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and South Korea.

He attributed the nation’s export performance to the gradual reopening of the economy and the recovery in external demand, adding that the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership would provide Malaysian firms with access to a wider market.

“Going forward, investor confidence has been bolstered by Moody’s latest affirmation of Malaysia’s local and foreign currency long-term issue ratings at A3, with a stable outlook.

“This is a testament to the government’s strong fiscal discipline and robust medium-term growth prospects and demonstrates Moody’s confidence in Malaysia as having strong credit standing,” he said.