• Ministry of Finance Malaysia (MOF) had released its 67th LAKSANA report
• The FBM KLCI fell by 0.83% or 13.22 points for the week to settle at 1,575.97 points
• US Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand rose by 8.3% yoy in August
• China’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.8% yoy in August
• China exports continued double-digit growth of 25.6% yoy in August
• Taiwan exports in August rose by 26.9% annually to almost USD39.55bn
• BNM, ECB, RBA, BOC, and NBP kept the policy rate unchanged, while CBR hiked by 25 basis points
• Week Ahead Economic Review

MALAYSIA ECONOMY

• According to the Ministry of Finance Malaysia (MOF) 67th LAKSANA report, under BNM-SMEs soft loans funds, a total of RM12.38bn was approved to the 26,089 applicants. Under Indian Community Entrepreneur Development Scheme, a total of RM18.83m was disbursed to 761 eligible SMEs. On the other hand, a total of RM1.705bn has been approved for 51 companies under Danajamin PRIHATIN Guarantee Scheme (DPGS). The government also had introduced various programs through the national budget and stimulus packages to support employment conditions; PENJANAKERJAYA, Mydigitalworkforce in Tech (MYWiT), Wages subsidies, etc. For PENJANAKERJAYA programs, RM995.36m was disbursed as of 3 September, benefiting 33,304 employers and 256,253 employees. Besides, a total of RM941.43m had been channeled based on 2,580,713 claims to the front-liners as allowance.
• Malaysia’s industrial production index (IPI) plummeted by -5.2% yoy in July, reversing a 1.4% gain in June 2021. The contraction ended seven straight months of increase in industrial output while hit the lowest in 14 months. The contraction in IPI was partially due to the high base comparison last year, prolonged lockdown, and moderation in external demand. The decline in July 2021 was caused by the decrease in the index of electricity (-6.6%) and manufacturing (- 6.5%) which outweighed the increase in mining (+0.6%). On a monthly basis, the IPI in July contracted by 5.3%, as declining in manufacturing output (-6.1%) and mining (-4.7%) offset the increase in electricity (+2.3%). In seasonally adjusted terms, IPI in July 2021 contracted by 6.1%. The negative growth was due to the manufacturing index (-8.2%), mining index (-4.6%), and electricity index (-2.8%).
• Malaysia’s distributive trade recorded sales of RM92.7bn in July, dipped by - 14.7% yoy following 10.3% decline in June 2021. The fall marked the second straight months of decline and the lowest in 14 months since May 2020. Sales value of motor vehicles sub-sector plummeted by 85.4% yoy (RM11.8bn) to RM2.0bn, following 92.4% drop in the previous month. Sales of retail trade decreased by 8.1% yoy or RM3.6bn to RM41.1bn. Meanwhile, wholesale trade generated sales value of RM49.5bn in July, dropped by RM0.5bn (-1.1% yoy). On a monthly basis, the sales value of wholesale & retail trade rebounded by 0.5% in July after 14.8% drop in June. Sales of motor vehicle and retail increased by 118.6% mom and 1.4% mom, respectively. However, wholesale trade sub-sector declined for the second month by 2.4% mom.

Source: BIMB Securities Research - 13 Sept 2021