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Borneo Post
4 hours ago
- Business
- Borneo Post
Malaysia posts 17th consecutive month of trade growth
In a statement today, Miti says total trade increased by 2.6 per cent to reach RM252.48 billion, setting a new record for the highest monthly value ever posted in May. – Bernama photo KUCHING (June 20): Malaysia's trade performance continued its upward momentum last month, marking the 17th consecutive month of year-on-year growth since January last year, according to the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti). In a statement today, the ministry said total trade increased by 2.6 per cent to reach RM252.48 billion, setting a new record for the highest monthly value ever posted in May. 'Exports recorded a slight decrease of 1.1 per cent to RM126.62 billion, while imports grew by 6.6 per cent to RM125.86 billion. 'Malaysia also maintained a trade surplus for the 61st consecutive month since May 2020, amounting to RM766.3 million,' it added. Miti pointed out that exports of electrical and electronic (E&E) products continued to show resilient performance last month, registering an increase of nearly RM4 billion. 'This is consistent with the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) forecast of an 11.2 per cent increase in global semiconductor sales this year.' It stated that Malaysia, as a key player in the global semiconductor supply chain, stands to benefit significantly from this anticipated expansion. 'Nevertheless, potential challenges remain, notably the uncertainties in global economic conditions. While the sector's outlook remains positive, proactive policy responses will be crucial to sustain this growth momentum,' it added. 'By destination, exports to key trading partners including the United States and the European Union recorded robust growth, while exports to Taiwan not only expanded but also attained a new record-high.' The ministry said exports to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners, notably the United Kingdom and New Zealand, also recorded increases, primarily due to higher shipments of palm oil-based manufactured products. For the first five months of this year, it noted that trade, exports, and imports achieved their highest cumulative value on record. 'Trade rose 6.2 per cent to RM1.23 trillion compared to the corresponding period last year, with exports expanding 5.5 per cent to RM638.48 billion and imports up by 6.9 per cent to RM591.54 billion. 'Trade surplus stood at RM46.94 billion, a slip of 9.4 per cent,' it added. Recognising the impact of global trade uncertainties, Miti said together with the Malaysian External Trade Development Corp (Matrade), they are ramping up efforts to build resilience in the trade ecosystem. 'These strategic initiatives are also contributing to Malaysia's growing global competitiveness. In the World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) 2025 published recently, Malaysia advanced 11 spots to the 23rd position among 69 economies. 'This marked the country's strongest performance since 2020 and signalled renewed investors' confidence in Malaysia's economic governance and policy direction.' malaysia Miti trade performance
Focus Malaysia
4 hours ago
- Business
- Focus Malaysia
Anwar: Time not right for GST re-implementation because rakyat's income still low
THE Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an efficient and transparent taxation system, but it is not yet suitable for re-implementation because the rakyat's income threshold is still low, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, said the government did not completely reject the proposal to re-implement the GST, but the ability of low-income people must be taken into account first because the taxation system has a comprehensive impact. 'We postponed (GST) because the income of the people was still too low. My opinion at the time was that people with an income of RM2,000 were still affected although we gave some exemptions. 'Sugar and rice are not affected, but when people buy other goods or ride the bus, indirectly GST (is imposed) meaning it is comprehensive,' he said during the Finance Ministry's monthly assembly on Friday (June 20). Anwar said the government believes that the re-implementation of GST should only be considered when the average income of the people has increased to a more reasonable level of at least RM4,000 a month. 'Let the people's income increase first, let's say the minimum salary is RM4,000 (a month), maybe at that time we can (implement it). 'Right now, there are people earning RM1,700 or RM2,000… Maybe I was not wise in making this decision, but my intention is not to introduce taxes that will have a detrimental effect on the lower-class people, that's all,' he said. Based on this view, Anwar said the government chose to implement a more targeted Sales and Service Tax (SST) from which the revenue would be used to increase allocations to key sectors of the country such as education and health. 'So this is our reason, we are taking this tax to return it to the people. The allocation for the Education Ministry from RM58 bil in 2024 has increased to RM64 bil this year. 'Similarly, for the Health Ministry, RM41 bil last year, we are adding RM4 bil a year (making it) RM45 bil,' he said, stressing that the government's priority now is to strengthen critical sectors and ensure transparent and effective management. Anwar stressed that any national fiscal policy decisions, including tax implementation, must be viewed from a macro perspective and not just short-term effects. At the same time, he acknowledged the government's weakness in terms of policy communication to the people, thus he called on all parties to provide more active explanations about the policies implemented to avoid confusion and baseless accusations. 'I hope my friends (in the government) will please explain. Sometimes we are defensive, we just let people attack and we don't respond… Indeed, our weakness is also in explaining (policies) because we assume everyone understands,' he said. GST was first introduced in Malaysia on April 1, 2015 as part of fiscal reforms to replace SST with an initial rate of 6 per cent imposed across the board on almost all goods and services except those exempted. However, GST has received widespread criticism from various sections of society for allegedly burdening consumers, especially the low-income group. The tax system was officially abolished on Sept 1, 2018 and replaced with SST. On June 9, the government announced that it would implement a targeted review of the Sales Tax rate and expansion of the scope of the Service Tax effective July 1 in line with strengthening the country's fiscal position by increasing revenue and broadening the tax base without burdening the people the most. The Sales Tax rate remains unchanged for essential goods while a rate of either five or 10% will be imposed on non-essential or discretionary goods. ‒ June 20, 2025 Main image: Reuters/Liesa Johannssen
![Malaysia logs RM253bil in May trade, highest ever for the month [BTTV]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.nst.com.my%2Fassets%2FNST-Logo%402x.png%3Fid%3Db37a17055cb1ffea01f5&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
New Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Malaysia logs RM253bil in May trade, highest ever for the month [BTTV]
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's trade in May 2025 rose by 2.6 per cent to RM252.48 billion, marking the highest monthly value ever recorded for May. The Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) said in a statement that this was the 17th consecutive month of year-on-year growth since January 2024, continuing the country's upward trade momentum. The ministry said exports saw a slight decrease of 1.1 per cent to RM126.62 billion, while imports grew by 6.6 per cent to RM125.86 billion. Malaysia maintained a trade surplus for the 61st consecutive month since May 2020, amounting to RM766.3 million. MITI said exports of electrical and electronic products continued to show resilient performance in May 2025, registering an increase of nearly RM4 billion. This was consistent with the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics forecast of an 11.2 per cent increase in global semiconductor sales in 2025. "As a key player in the global semiconductor supply chain, Malaysia stands to benefit significantly from this anticipated expansion. "Nevertheless, potential challenges remain, notably the uncertainties in global economic conditions. "While the sector's outlook remains positive, proactive policy responses will be crucial to sustain this growth momentum," it added. In terms of destination, MITI said exports to key trading partners, including the US and the European Union, recorded robust growth, while exports to Taiwan not only expanded but also attained a new record high. Exports to free trade agreement partners, notably the United Kingdom and New Zealand, also recorded increases, primarily due to higher shipments of palm oil-based manufactured products. For the period of January to May 2025, trade, exports, and imports achieved their highest cumulative value on record. Trade rose 6.2 per cent to RM1.23 trillion compared to the corresponding period in 2024, with exports expanding 5.5 per cent to RM638.48 billion and imports up by 6.9 per cent to RM591.54 billion. The trade surplus stood at RM46.94 billion, a decline of 9.4 per cent. "Recognising the impact of global trade uncertainties, MITI and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) are ramping up efforts to build resilience in the trade ecosystem. "These strategic initiatives are also contributing to Malaysia's growing global competitiveness," MITI said. Malaysia also recently advanced 11 spots to the 23rd position among 69 economies in the World Competitiveness Ranking 2025. MITI said this marked the country's strongest performance since 2020 and signalled renewed investors' confidence in Malaysia's economic governance and policy direction.
The Star
7 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Rakuten Trade lowers FBM KLCI 2025 target to 1,630 amid earnings downgrade
Bursa Malaysia building in Bukit Kewangan, KL on October 29.—AZMAN GHANI/The Star KUALA LUMPUR: Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd has revised its year-end target for the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) to 1,630 from its earlier projection of 1,730, in line with the recent downgrades in corporate earnings, said its head of research Kenny Yee Shen Pin. He noted that foreign investors have yet to return to Malaysian equities, despite attractive valuations across Southeast Asian markets, further weighing on the overall market sentiment. "In view of the short-term stance among foreign funds, coupled with recent earnings downgrades, we have lowered our 2025 target for the FBM KLCI to the 1,630 level, based on a 16.0 times price-to-earnings ratio (PER) for the calendar year 2025 ' he said during a webinar today. He noted that at present, the FBM KLCI is trading at a PER of between 12 and 13 times, which remains below both its historical average and valuations of regional peers. He described foreign fund flows as "disappointing' after recording net outflows of RM4 billion in 2024, with the situation deteriorating further this year with net foreign outflows reaching RM11.2 billion so far. "This level (of foreign outflows) is quite perplexing, especially since Malaysia is quite steady both fundamentally and politically, yet we are seeing a diminishing foreign interest in the local market,' he said. He added that non-US-based funds are expected to gradually reduce their exposure to the US markets and shift their focus back to Asia, which could support a rebound in foreign fund inflows in the near term. Notwithstanding the massive foreign outflows, Yee highlighted that foreign shareholding in the local bourse surprising remains decent at 19.44 per cent as of June 2025. "We can only deduce that long-term foreign investors may be returning, while the majority of those who exited were short-term participants. For now, the Hong Kong market will still be their primary destination,' he said. Meanwhile, Yee projected that the US dollar will continue to weaken against the basket of major currencies, with the ringgit likely to strengthen to the 4.10-4.20 range by year-end, supported by the US recessionary concerns that could trigger interest rate cuts. "As many of you know, the US Dollar Index (DXY) has already dropped by 10 per cent year-to-date against major currencies. Hence, moving forward, many expect the dollar index to continue to weaken further --along the way, we may see the ringgit performing better against the US dollar,' he added. On domestic policy, Yee proposed that the government take a measured approach to the rationalisation of RON95 fuel subsidies, especially in light of ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. "We may see only a partial rationalisation of RON95, depending on how high or how much crude oil prices go,' he suggested. As of this morning, the ringgit traded higher at 4.2490/2700 against the US dollar, while the FBM KLCI climbed 0.22 per cent to 1,504.79 at lunch break. - Bernama
Malaysian Reserve
8 hours ago
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
MITI: Malaysia's trade up 2.6% to RM252.48b in May
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's trade increased by 2.6 per cent in May 2025 to reach RM252.48 billion, marking the 17th consecutive month of year-on-year growth since January 2024, said the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry. In a statement today, it said exports recorded a slight decrease of 1.1 per cent to RM126.62 billion, while imports grew 6.6 per cent to RM125.86 billion. Trade surplus for the month stood at RM766.3 million, maintaining a trade surplus for the 61st consecutive month since May 2020. The ministry noted that exports of electrical and electronics (E&E) products continued to show resilient performance, registering an increase of nearly RM4 billion — consistent with the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics forecast of an 11.2 per cent increase in global semiconductor sales in 2025. 'As a key player in the global semiconductor supply chain, Malaysia stands to benefit significantly from this anticipated expansion. 'Nevertheless, potential challenges remain, notably the uncertainties in global economic conditions. While the sector's outlook remains positive, proactive policy responses will be crucial to sustain this growth momentum,' it said. According to MITI, trade, exports and imports achieved their highest cumulative value on record for the January to May 2025 period, with trade growing 6.2 per cent to RM1.23 trillion compared to the corresponding period in 2024. Exports expanded 5.5 per cent to RM638.48 billion and imports rose 6.9 per cent to RM591.54 billion, while the trade surplus slipped 9.4 per cent to RM46.94 billion. The ministry noted that exports to key trading partners, including the United States and the European Union recorded robust growth, while exports to Taiwan not only expanded but also attained a new record high. 'Exports to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners, notably the United Kingdom and New Zealand also recorded increases, primarily due to higher shipments of palm oil-based manufactured products,' it added. — BERNAMA
