KUALA LUMPUR – AmBank Research expects positive growth of 2.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) in the fourth quarter of 2021 and 3.5% y-o-y for the full year as the economy reopens and the high vaccination rate allows for economic sectors to function properly.
It said, coupled with pent-up demand, high commodity prices and robust exports, the economy will continue to grow at a healthy pace.
“Furthermore, the exemption of new vehicles’ SST (sales and services tax), which is extended until June 2022 under Budget 2022, will help buoy the automotive market after being heavily affected during the lockdown.
“This can be seen in the double-digit growth of its sales value and volume in the sale of motor vehicles,” AmBank Research said in a note today.
Nevertheless, caution lingers on the possibility of the emergence of deadlier and more severe new Covid-19 variants, it said.
The research house suggested that the country may see a monthly gross domestic product growth of 1.2% for October.
For the month of October, Malaysia’s industrial production index reached its highest growth since May 2021 at 5.5% y-o-y, above 2.5% in September.
On a monthly basis, the same headline index grew by 4.8%, driven by the manufacturing index growth of 8.0% y-o-y and electricity index of 4.1% y-o-y, but was offset by the decline in mining of 3.5% y-o-y.
As for the ringgit, it expects the local note to trade between the support level of 4.1940 and 4.2000 while resistance is pinned at 4.2220 and 4.2300. – Bernama, December 13, 2021
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