KUALA LUMPUR: 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% and 26.5% although the year-to-date growth up to November was 27.4%.
“Exports grew by 15.6% year-on-year in November 2022 (October 2022: 15%), bringing total exports to RM130.2 billion. The growth number was above market expectation of 13.2% year-on-year,” it said in a note on Dec 20.
In November, Malaysia’s total trade grew by 15.6% year-on-year to RM238.2 billion compared with RM206.1 billion in October 2022.
The 15.6% growth in exports year-on-year brought total exports to RM130.2 billion, while imports expanded at the same pace of 15.6% year-on-year.
It said this translated to a trade surplus of RM22.3 billion, a growth of 15.6% against the same month in the previous year.
As for 2023, AmBank Research expects exports growth to moderate to 6% 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. – Bernama