Malaysia’s Net Capital Stock Hits RM3.7 Trillion as Services Dominate Asset Base
Manufacturing assets grew 5.5%, while machinery and equipment expanded 6.6% at constant 2015 prices.
Malaysia's net capital stock grew 4.2% to RM3.7 trillion in 2025, with services accounting for seven-tenths of the country's fixed-asset base and manufacturing recording faster growth than the national average.
Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas / CC BY-SA 3.0; displayed at reduced size.
The increase accelerated from 3.8% in 2024, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia's capital stock figures released Oct. 1. Services rose 4.9%, while manufacturing expanded 5.5%. Mining and quarrying grew 0.4%, agriculture increased 0.8% and construction advanced 4.0%.
Structures represented 81.0% of net capital stock and grew 4.1%. Machinery and equipment had a smaller 11.4% share but increased 6.6%, outpacing the overall asset base. Other assets accounted for 7.6% and grew 1.6%.
The figures show that the fastest-growing asset category was not the largest. Structures still held most of the accumulated value, while machinery and equipment grew at a quicker rate. Sector shares describe where assets are held; they are not the same as each industry's share of annual economic output.
The department's full publication valued net capital stock at RM3,738.1 billion at constant 2015 prices, compared with RM3,587.3 billion in 2024. Services held RM2,614.8 billion, manufacturing RM451.4 billion, and mining and quarrying RM562.7 billion.
The price basis matters when reading those totals. At current prices, net capital stock was RM3,991.3 billion and grew 5.1%. The constant-price series measures values on a common 2015 price basis, so its 4.2% growth rate should not be mixed with the current-price total.
Gross capital stock reached RM6,047.1 billion at constant prices, growing 3.9%. Productive capital stock increased 4.1% to RM4,955.0 billion. These measures answer different questions about the same broad pool of fixed assets, rather than representing separate sums that can be added together.
Net capital stock adjusts accumulated investment for assets that have been retired and for depreciation on those still in use, according to DOSM's statistical definitions. Gross stock removes retired assets but does not make that depreciation adjustment. Productive stock also considers how the efficiency of assets differs with age.
The department's asset classification includes residential and nonresidential structures, vehicles, computers and other equipment. Its other-assets group includes items such as research and development and mineral exploration. Capital stock therefore covers more than factory machinery or commercial buildings alone.
The figures also provide context for the relationship between investment and production capacity. In its Economic and Monetary Review 2025, Bank Negara Malaysia estimated that potential output grew 4.8% in 2025, compared with 3.9% in 2024, and linked the expansion to higher capital accumulation alongside stronger investment activity.
The central bank described potential output as the amount an economy could produce without creating excess inflationary pressure, given its labor, capital and productivity. It also cautioned that potential output is not directly observable and must be estimated. A larger asset stock supplies part of that capacity, but how efficiently assets are used remains a separate consideration.