The recovery of Malaysia’s exports will be championed by semiconductor and other electrical and electronics (E&E) products in the fourth quarter of this year (4Q 2023), said MIDF Research.
This would be aided by no further tightening of monetary policy in major economies and better progress in China’s economic recovery as stimulus measures start to kick in, the research house said.
It said that although overall E&E exports fell marginally by 0.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in the first nine months of 2023, more than 70 per cent of exports of E&E products continued expanding steadily so far this year.
“Apart from semiconductors, we noticed electrical switcher relays and circuits, electrical power machinery and electro-medical equipment increased by 3.1 per cent, 25.8 per cent and 7.8 per cent y-o-y, respectively, in nine months,” MIDF Research said in a note today.
By market structure, Malaysia’s E&E is shifting towards the semiconductor industry given that the ratio to E&E exports rose to the latest 67.7 per cent from 59.5 per cent in 2019.
The research firm also expects the ratio to reach a higher point in later years as guided by the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 strategies.
“Via the NIMP 2030’s mission-based champions, Malaysia is set to explore more high-end segments of the semiconductor supply chain, namely integrated circuit design and wafer fabrication.
“We foresee sanguine 2024 outlook for semiconductor and E&E amid NIMP 2030 strategies, better China’s economic recovery and improved global demand,” it added.