Malaysian manufacturing sales rose 10 percent in March from a year earlier to RM28.6 billion and were up 10.4 percent from February , official data showed today.

For the first three months of 2003, manufacturing sales totalled RM81.2 billion, an increase of 12.9 percent from a year earlier, the Statistics Department said.

"The modest (growth) figure for March is due to companies drawing down o­n inventories," o­ne analyst with a local brokerage said. Malaysian manufacturing sales rose 17.3 percent in February.

Slower demand

"External demand is slowing down. For the first-half of 2003, we may just see a small growth in manufacturing sales. Any pickup will come in the second-half and it will be depend o­n the performance of the US economy," he added.

Malaysia's industries are reeling from the twin blows of the war in Iraq and the outbreak of the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars), which has depressed business throughout the region.

The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) has cut its 2003 economic growth forecast for Malaysia following the outbreak of Sars to 3.7 percent from an earlier projection of 5.7 percent. -- AFP