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Market Highlights
Economic Update
Tue, 06 Oct 2026 07:04 am
Economic outlook - Penang tech visit: Stronger conviction on Malaysia’s tech outlook        

• We visited five companies across Penang covering engineering & support services, equipment distribution & manufacturing, raw & semi-finished materials, Automated Test Equipment and precision machining & components.
• The current AI upcycle appears structural, while we noted evidence of trade diversion and talent shortages, and identified constraints to Malaysia moving up the value chain.
• Malaysia’s concentration in lower-value segments of the semiconductor value chain could limit its ability to fully capture the broader tech upcycle dividend.
• The National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) and initiatives such as the Malaysia Advanced Packaging Consortium (MAPC) could help address these constraints.

Market Outlook
Mon, 28 Sep 2026 06:42 am
Market Outlook - Trump-Xi: De-escalation, Not a Reset

• Trump-Xi summit eases near-term trade tensions, with the US-China trade truce extended to 10 January 2027, but major structural disputes remain unresolved.
• Malaysia stands to benefit from greater trade visibility, given strong exposure to both China and the US, with E&E exports remaining a key growth driver.
• Budget 2027 on 9 October could trigger a Pre-Budget Rally.
• Maintain our Barbell Strategy, favouring AI and semiconductors, data centre infrastructure, energy transition, critical minerals and consumer digitalisation, alongside defensive exposure to Utilities and Plantation.
• Maintain our year-end KLCI target of 1,770.

Economic Update
Mon, 21 Sep 2026 07:34 am
Malaysia External Trade - Still going strong

Exports accelerated to +45.5% YoY in August (Jul: +38.0%), while imports remained robust at +41.1% (Jul: +36.3%). The trade surplus widened to RM28.1bn (Jul: RM22.5bn).

Manufacturing and LNG drove export growth, partly offset by weaker agriculture.

Strong intermediate goods imports point to firm order pipelines, which should support near-term industrial and export activity.

We expect exports to remain supported by the tech upcycle and potential trade diversion.

Headwinds include an unfavourable base effect, renewed Middle East tensions and uncertainty surrounding US trade policy.

We maintain our 2026 export growth forecast at +26.2% YoY (2025: +6.6%).

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EUR 4.578087 4.582738
CNY 0.608970 0.609608
HKD 0.518995 0.522644
SGD 3.181337 3.203822
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