Manufacturers Remain Upbeat On Growth Prospects, OCBC upgrades GDP growth
Malaysian manufacturers remained upbeat about prospects for the rest of the year, despite underlying weakness in client demand as shown by the headline Nikkei Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). June PMI fell to 46.9 from 48.7 in May, which was the lowest in the survey’s five-year history.
Meanwhile, OCBC Bank has upgraded Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 4.8% for 2017 from 4.2% earlier and on the back of growing global trade in the second half. OCBC said although the year began with concerns about the rise of protectionist politics in the developed world to impede global trade, it has turned out to be unwarranted. The bank added that instead of being dragged down by a massive global trade slowdown, Malaysia’s economy was boosted by robust trade flows, with exports growing stronger in the first quarter of the year, at an average 21.4% year-on-year per month.
MOSTI Sees Potential Collaboration Of US$113 Mln In Bio-based Projects
The Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation (MOSTI) sees potential collaboration of US$113 million in bio-based and innovation projects from the Astana Expo 2017 which ended on June 30. The ministry said the collaboration arose from the business matching sessions it had organised at the Malaysia Pavilion between local companies and their counterparts from Kazakhstan, India, China and Switzerland. It saw the exchange of five Memorandums of Understanding valued at more than US$113 million.
MITI to Promote Halal Products, Services At China Fair
Second Ministr of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, will lead a delegation to promote Malaysian halal products and services at the Lanzhou Investment and Trade Fair 2017 in China, from July 6 to 9, 2017. The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) said, 90 representatives from 31 Malaysian companies and various Malaysian government organisations would take part in the event. Lanzhou has been identified by the Chinese government as one of the halal trade hubs in the country.
E Singapore Brings Together 6 COs To Establish Partnership For KL-SG HSR
Six Singapore companies, brought together by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, announced their intention to partner each other with plans to team up with international players to jointly participate in high-speed rail (HSR) projects, starting with the Kuala Lumpur Singapore High Speed Rail (KL-SG HSR). The companies involved are Clifford Capital Pte Ltd, DBS, Sembcorp Design & Construction, SMRT International Pte Ltd, Surbana Jurong Pte Ltd and Singapore Technologies Electronics Ltd. “Transport infrastructure accounts for 25 per cent of the US$4.3 trillion in global infrastructure spending in 2016. The HSR sub-segment is a key growth area,” said Group Director, Environment and Infrastructure Solutions Group, IE Singapore, Kow Juan Tiang in a joint statement today.
