Selangor is the biggest contributor to national gross domestic product (GDP). In comparison with other states in Malaysia, Selangor’s real GDP grew at the fastest pace – at 6.8% – in 2018. The state’s superior economic growth was underpinned by a sustained expansion in key sectors, namely services (7.6%), construction (6.6%) and manufacturing (6.3%).

During the year, the state posted the second-highest amount of investments in Malaysia, after Johor. The state raked in a total of RM18.9 billion of approved investments in manufacturing. About 57% of the investments were foreign while the rest were domestic. In the first nine months of 2019, Selangor saw a total of 232 approved manufacturing projects worth RM16.4 billion.

Selangor’s revenue was recorded at RM2.0 billion in 2018, down by 28.9% from the preceding year. The decline in total revenue was attributed to a slowdown in non-tax revenue, the largest contributor to the state’s coffers. Concurrently, total expenditure also fell for the first time in four years, by 17.6% to RM2.6 billion. Overall, the state’s fiscal balance continued to register a deficit for the third consecutive year, with a deficit of RM619.3 million in 2018.

The state’s debt position was largely unchanged at RM1.1 billion in 2018. Public debt comprised of three components, namely water-related (97%), borrowings from Amanah Saham Selangor (0.9%) and the expansion of the Sungai Way Free Trade Zone (FTZ) (1.9%). A large portion of the state’s water-related debt (RM657.7 million) was due to the rescheduling of the water supply project that includes payment made by Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (SYABAS) to the federal government.