RISE IN LEADING AND COINCIDENT INDEXES SIGNALS POSITIVE OUTLOOK FOR MALAYSIA IN 2024 - MIDF

Positive growth in the Leading Index (LI) and Coincident Index (CI) indicates Malaysia's growth momentum will remain strong in the near term, driven by rising domestic and external demand, MIDF Research said.

The research house maintains its projection that Malaysia's economy will grow at 4.7% this year, up from 3.6% in 2023.

“We foresee positive growth fundamentals continuing, as indicated by the continued expansion in the LI.

“Nevertheless, we remain cautious that the growth outlook may be constrained by several downside risks, such as a slowdown in major economies like China and the US, worsening geopolitical and trade tensions, and disruptions to the global supply chain and trade flow,” it said in a note.

Malaysia's LI increased by 4.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) in April 2024, marking the steepest rise since July 2022, driven by improvements in all components except real imports of semiconductors.

“Current economic conditions also remained encouraging as the CI increased by 3.0% y-o-y, the fastest growth in three months, due to another double-digit expansion in real Employees Provident Fund contributions at 34.1%, as more people entered the job market,” it added.