MY Morning Wrap | Wholesale and Retail Trade Up 4.3% in June to RM138.5bil - DoSM

Malaysia's wholesale and retail trade recorded a monthly sales value of RM138.5 billion, an increase of 4.3 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in June 2023, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM). Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase of 4.3 per cent for wholesale and retail trade in June 2023 was attributed to the retail trade sub-sector, which rose 5.8 per cent or RM3.2 billion to register RM59.4 billion.

Services sector revenue registered a 6.9 per cent growth year-on-year (y-o-y) in the second quarter of 2023 (2Q 2023) to record a total of RM568.3 billion, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reported. Chief statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the services sector's performance in the 2Q was driven by the wholesale and retail trade, food and beverages, and accommodation segment, which increased 5.9 per cent to RM433.5 billion.

Malaysia's construction sector rose 8.1 per cent year-on-year in the value of work done in the second quarter of 2023 (2Q 2023) to record a total of RM32.4 billion, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) said. Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increment was supported continuously by double-digit growth in civil engineering with 10.4 per cent growth in this quarter (1Q 2023: 17.2 per cent). “In the meantime, the sub-sector of special trade activities recorded higher growth in this quarter by 9.8 per cent compared to 9.0 per cent in the previous quarter while the non-residential buildings sub-sector grew modestly by 5.7 per cent (Q1 2023: 9.6 per cent).

Malaysia is poised to surpass its international tourist arrival target for this year by achieving an arrival of at least 18 million visitors, exceeding the initial target of 16.1 million tourists, said the Director General of Tourism Malaysia, Datuk Dr Ammar Abdul Ghapar. He said the target was set based on various factors, namely the increase in airline frequency, expansion of chartered operating flights, and the allure of year-end holidays, which are expected to further bolster visitor numbers. “This year, we target 16.1 million (international) tourists… looking at this positive growth, easily we can say that if nothing goes wrong, we can get 18 million tourists this year, which is more than what we targetted… we hope that materialises and we are very optimistic about it,” he said in his speech when officiating the Jordan Tourism Board Road Show and Business Dinner here Monday.

Malaysians are expected to be able to enjoy higher wages next year through the announcement of Budget 2024, which will be presented this October, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli (picture). The Pandan MP said the increase in the people's wages will be implemented based on a new direction of employment that will be set by the Unity Government.“The direction of employment is already there, the people will start to feel higher wages next year when the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will announce the government’s allocation to increase the people’s wages, through the Budget presented this October,” he said last night.

Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC Ratings) is closely monitoring the potential impact on the bond market as Malaysia’s latest export figures in June showed a 14.1% decline, signifying a concerning second quarter of 2023 (2Q23) performance. It also noted that exports to the US and the European Union (EU) also experienced significant declines of 19% and 21.8%, respectively. This weaker external sector performance has reinforced concerns over weaker domestic GDP growth for the quarter. MARC Ratings indicated that a sustained trade moderation, combined with higher interest rates in advanced economies, could trigger a global economic slowdown in the coming months. Additionally, domestic demand softened slightly, as the seasonally adjusted volume index of wholesale and retail trade eased to 4.6% in May, down from 4.8% in April.

There is still room for improvement in the range and depth of shariah-compliant financial instruments to meet investors' demand, according to Bursa Malaysia Bhd. Bursa Malaysia head of investor development Stephanie Tan said the need for modernisation becomes evident to meet the demands of the ever-evolving market landscape. "Emerging asset classes, financial instruments, and investment strategies present opportunities to thrive in this evolving environment. "Embracing a broader array of financial instruments, such as sukuk, Islamic exchange-traded funds (i-ETF), and Islamic REITs, expands our access to diversified investment opportunities, enhances liquidity, and accommodates varying risk profiles,” she said during the opening remarks of Invest Shariah Conference 2023.