Kuala Lumpur, Jun 22 (IANS): Malaysia's exports of services surged 59.3 per cent year on year to a record 140.3 billion ringgit ($30.1 billion ) in 2022, supported by travel, official data revealed on Thursday.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that the favourable growth of exports was spearheaded by the resilient performance of travel, which witnessed a significant recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, reports Xinhua news agency.

Overall, Malaysia's total trade in services increased by 39.4 per cent year on year to 336.9 billion ringgit in 2022, contributing 18.8 per cent to the country's gross domestic product.

Meanwhile, imports of services rose from 153.7 billion ringgit to 196.7 billion ringgit in 2022.

As services exports grew faster than imports, the deficit of international trade in services narrowed to 56.4 billion ringgit in 2022 from 65.7 billion ringgit in 2021.

Asia remained the leading market for Malaysia's services exports, constituting 55.1 per cent of total services valued at 77.3 billion ringgit.

The major regions for Malaysia's services imports were also Asia with a share of 52 per cent or 102.3 billion ringgit.

Considering potential external risks such as geo-economics fragmentation, geopolitical tensions, and global inflation, the DOSM projected Malaysia's trade in services to experience moderate growth throughout 2023.