EXPORTS TO CONTINUE ROBUST GROWTH IN OCT

E&E sector set to remain as key contributor, says Bank Islam

EIndustry Ministry will release the data today. Standard Chartered Bank economist Edward Lee remarked electronics exports likely continued to support headline export growth. “Exports of crude petroleum and petroleum-related products may have benefited from higher oil prices,” he said.

Meanwhile, crude palm oil (CPO) and natural gas prices have been relatively flat year-onyear.

“This print may be volatile, however, as the region’s Mid-Autumn festival holiday effect may have distorted the September and October trade data,” he warned.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said E&E sector would continue to drive exports.

The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics recently revised its forecast from 11.5 per cent to 20.6 per cent this year.

“This suggests that Malaysia’s E&E players would continue to receive healthy order books, especially when there are series of new product launches by the major smartphone players (Apple and Samsung).”

This, he added, would keep them busy while their previous capacity expansion was starting to pay off as their plants and equipment were able to cater for higher demand from customers.

Afzanizam said commodity exports such as CPO, liquefied natural gas and crude oil would also helped contribute to the overall growth.

CPO exports in October showed 7.8 per cent year-on-year increase (from September’s 3.9 per cent) to 1.55 million tonnes as demand from abroad was forthcoming.

This was premised on positive growth in key export destinations such as China, Pakistan and Vietnam.

“The Malaysian economy is the immediate beneficiary for the improvement in global demand.”

This, he said, had translated into active economic activities, especially for the export-oriented industries, which would result in higher demand for labour and capital.