Original article
Puchong, 12 Feb: NAYSAYERS are not going to like this, but the news about the Malaysian economy is good, if not great.
Seems that the economy is not just turning the corner in great fashion but is expected to do anything between well and very well in the coming years. Not that it has been doing that badly in the first place, as these detractors would like you to believe!
But don't take my word for it, read what the experts have to say ....
You can read a Malaysian news portal's version h e r e or opt for the Independent's These will be the 32 most powerful economies in 2030 but the suggestions are the same: Malaysia isn't going "south" or "bankrupt" and is not facing a crisis of confidence as some smart alecs have suggested; on the contrary, we are well on the way up.
Interestingly, four Asean economies will be there in the Top 32 (but not Singapore). Some of you ought to stop looking down on our Indonesian neighbours for they are expected to rip ahead to 5th position by 2030 and is poised to become one of the big four economies by 2050!
Not convinced?
If The Edge's usually skeptical take on Najib Razak's economic handling is more up your alley, check out its latest analysis on Malaysia's economy performance. I'm not asking my dear Readers to start believing whatever the weekly owned by the controversial Tong Kooi Ong publishes, just pointing out the fact that they could also be making a U-Tun on the economy here ...
Look back at previous years' predictions and one will see that, in each and every year, there had been anal-ysts insisting Malaysia was going to face financial troubles. As in going down the drain. And they had colourful pie charts and tables to prove it.
ReplyDeleteSure, things had not been smooth. Especially at the height of 1MDB-related issues, the price of crude oil collapsing and the ringgit depreciating. But things look to have improved since then. Dollar's strength is still a concern to some, especially to companies with dollar-denominated debts. But we had gone through worse. And survived. We will, again.
I attended a talk by my remisier yesterday - a solidly pro-opposition man in a DAP stronghold - and he told us that the uncertain times of 2016 are over for Bursa Malaysia and the KL Composite Index, and that with the strong likelihood that the U.S. economy will recover and do well this year, that with GE 14 coming, the government will likely spend more on infrastructure development, such as the MRT, with gradually rising crude oil prices, growing demand for palm oil (especially for biodiesel) it is likely that the shares of export-oriented companies, the construction industry and the oil & gas industry including O&G service industries will likely pick up, so watch the movement of share prices in these industries.
ReplyDeleteWhatever tariff measures the Trump administration may implement, however Malaysia's oil palm industry will not be affected especially where exports are to China and other countries besides the U.S.
He also told us that shares of FGV are likely to recover and when they have recovered sufficiently, that is when Najib could call the elections.
I also believe that with investments from China, including the building of the East Coast rail link, Malaysian industries and workers are bound to benefit from the collateral benefits.
So unless World War III breaks out or something like that, the future looks promising for stock market investors and traders at least in 2017 and 2018.