AmBank Research expects the country’s export growth to remain in double-digit territory for December 2022.
It is maintaining its 2022 exports growth forecast of between 25.5 per cent and 26.5 per cent although the year-to-date growth up to November was 27.4 per cent.
Exports grew by 15.6 per cent year-on-year in November 2022 (October 2022: 15.0 per cent), bringing total exports to RM130.2 billion. The growth number was above market expectation of 13.2 per cent year-on-year,” it said in a note today.
In November, Malaysia’s total trade grew by 15.6 per cent year-on-year to RM238.2 billion compared with RM206.1 billion in October 2022.
The 15.6 per cent growth in exports year-on-year brought total exports to RM130.2 billion, while imports expanded at the same pace of 15.6 per cent year-on-year.
It said this translated to a trade surplus of RM22.3 billion, a growth of 15.6 per cent against the same month in the previous year.
As for 2023, AmBank Research expects exports growth to moderate to 6.0 per cent next year, reflecting the high base-effect in 2022.
It said the electrical and electronics sector would continue support export growth next year, particularly those related to new energy and electrical vehicle production.
The research house noted that local companies had expanded production capacity this year to meet external demand.
Specifically, we foresee demand for energy-related such as solar panels and electric vehicles to remain robust next year,” it added.
