Key View

• We expect real household spending in Malaysia to grow by a further 4.4% y-o-y over 2022, an improvement from the 1.2% growth in spending recorded in 2021.
• In 2023, household spending will strengthen slightly to 5.0% as Covid-related pressures further ease. The slowing of inflation will also provide boost to household spending in 2023

Key View

• We expect Bank Negara Malaysia to raise its policy rate further by 50bps to 2.75% by end-2022, after it hiked by 25bps to 2.25% at its July 6 meeting.
• Although inflation has remained relatively benign in Malaysia due to government intervention, the ringgit has been under persistent downward pressure which will add to pressures for

Key View

• Agriculture remains an important sector in Malaysia, contributing 7.4% to Malaysia’s GDP in 2020.
• The sector, however, faces severe challenges as a result of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change. These factors have resulted in soaring food prices globally as well as food insecurity in Malaysia.
• The

Key View

• We at Fitch Solutions have revised down our 2022 growth forecast to 5.2%, from 5.6% previously, after official data showed that the economy grew by 5.0% y-o-y in Q122.
• The main driver for our revision is the weaker outlook for net exports due to weakening global growth prospects and tightening monetary policy around the world.
• We

Key View

• We believe that digital banking will see high demand in Malaysia, given the numerous advantages that it offers to consumers and enterprises and the rising digital literacy of the country.
• Consequently, we believe that the five consortia awarded the country’s first digital banking licences are well-positioned to capture the market

Key View

• We at Fitch Solutions forecast Malaysia’s current account balance to come in at 1.9% of GDP in 2022, wider than the 1.6% recorded in 2021.
• This reflects our view that higher commodity prices will provide a strong boost to the goods trade balance.
• Services exports are also likely to improve due to the opening of travel with other

Key View

• We at Fitch Solutions maintain our 2022 growth forecast at 5.5% for Malaysia, following the recovery in growth to 3.6% y-o-y in Q421, with full year growth in 2021 coming in at 3.1%.
• The main drivers of growth in our view remain private consumption and investment, as Covid-related restrictions continue to ease and the global

Key View

• We have revised upwards our forecast CAGR for Malaysia’s medical device market, with our improved outlook being supported by Malaysia’s continued economic recovery.
• Patient aids and orthopaedics and prosthetics will lead growth in Malaysia’s medical device market.
• Changes to the national medical device registration system will

Key View

• Consumer spending in Malaysia will post solid growth over 2022, after two years of Covid-19 related economic slowdowns.
• Both retail sales and consumer confidence indices have so far struggled to reach pre-Covid-19 levels. While there are recent signs that things are improving, we do note that higher inflation does pose a risk to