In today’s edition of Evening 5 — Malaysia’s GDP expanded by 3.3% for the third quarter and Bank Negara says the country is on track to achieving its 4% GDP growth target for 2023. Meanwhile, EPF saw its investment income improve by 19% for the third quarter to RM47.86 billion.
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00:04 Malaysia's economy, as measured by gross domestic product, grew 3.3% year-on-year in the third quarter,
00:10 driven mainly by private sector expenditure.
00:12 Growth was slightly better than the 2.9% seen in the second quarter,
00:16 but lower than the 5.6% year-on-year growth in the first quarter.
00:20 On a month-on-month basis, GDP growth moderated from 4.2% in July to 3.2% in August and 2.5% in September.
00:29 Quarter-on-quarter, GDP was higher by 2.6% in the third quarter,
00:33 faster than the 1.5% quarter-on-quarter growth recorded in the second quarter,
00:37 according to a statement from the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
00:41 Overall, the Malaysian economy expanded by 3.9% year-on-year in the nine months of 2023,
00:47 compared with 9.2% last year, the DOSM said.
00:51 Bank Negara Governor Datuk Syei Abdul Rashid Ghaffour said Malaysia remains on track
00:56 to achieve its GDP growth target this year, albeit at the lower end of its forecast range of 4-5% for this year.
01:03 Speaking at the GDP briefing, Abdul Rashid said that by now there are many indicators
01:07 showing how resilient the economy is, adding that despite the external shocks,
01:12 growth in the first three quarters of the year was 3.9%.
01:16 He adds that looking at indicators in terms of GDP growth for this year,
01:20 the central bank sees positive growth in terms of demand for passenger cars and private consumption.
01:25 Meanwhile, the central bank kept the Malaysian government's projection
01:28 that the country's economy would grow between 4 and 5% in 2024.
01:33 Abdul Rashid said that on the global front, slower-than-expected recovery and external demand
01:37 is a key downside risk factor, while on the domestic front, weaker labour market conditions,
01:43 more severe shocks on commodity production,
01:45 and prolonged plant maintenance could also potentially weigh on growth outlook.
01:49 In terms of upside risks, this could mainly stem from stronger-than-expected tourism activity,
01:54 faster recovery from tax cycle downturn, as well as a larger impact from the progress
01:59 of multi-year investment projects and recently announced policy measures.
02:03 He also added that BNM's GDP projection for 2024 has also taken into consideration
02:08 the impending increase in the sales and services tax.
02:12 On the impact of the US-Montrey tightening policy on ringgit movement,
02:15 Abdul Rashid expects that the US-Montrey policy is maybe at the tail end of the tightening cycle
02:21 and that once that happens, the ringgit could strengthen.
02:24 The Employees' Provident Fund registered a total investment income of $47.86 billion
02:34 for the nine months of 2023, representing a 33% increase from the $36.04 billion recorded last year.
02:42 Total investment income for the third quarter was $14.67 billion after netting off write-downs,
02:47 up 19% or $2.38 billion from $12.29 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2022.
02:55 For the third quarter, equity investments remain the significant contributor to the pension fund,
03:00 accounting for 63% of the total investment income in the quarter,
03:04 with $9.17 billion generated after netting off write-downs, according to the EPF.
03:10 Meanwhile, fixed income instruments comprising Malaysian government securities and equivalents,
03:14 as well as loans and bonds, remain the anchor amid short-term market volatility,
03:19 contributing 32% or $4.76 billion to total investment income.
03:24 CEO Dato' Amer Hamza Azizan said that during the third quarter,
03:27 the pension fund witnessed global equities posting a negative return,
03:31 shifting significantly from strong gains experienced in the first half of 2023.
03:36 He adds that the Gaza-Israel war and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict
03:40 will undoubtedly contribute to an atmosphere of uncertainty.
03:43 All of this, plus numerous other challenges, he says,
03:46 has introduced a new dimension to the global economic landscape,
03:50 one that requires the EPF to implement a vigilant and adaptive approach.
03:54 The EPF also lauded the government's efforts on the recently launched
03:57 Malaysia New Industrial Master Plan 2030,
04:00 which provides a strategic direction to develop the nation's industrial sector
04:04 to become globally competitive with high economic complexity.
04:08 Meanwhile, the EPF said it continues to record growth of new member registrations
04:12 at 365,519, adding to the total number of EPF members
04:17 as at September 30, 2023, of 15.99 million.
04:22 In order to achieve its coverage target of more than 60% active members
04:25 of the labor force by 2030, the EPF intensified its outreach programs
04:30 and proactive stakeholder engagement.
04:32 The EPF also recognized the growing trend of informality in the Malaysian workforce
04:37 and the challenges it poses for the lack of old age social protection coverage.
04:41 As such, the pension fund remains determined to expand its coverage
04:44 to this segment through the mobilization of 41 vehicles and 10 mobile trucks
04:49 as part of its outreach to those in the informal sector
04:52 and self-employed workers across the nation.
04:55 Afin Bank posted a net profit of $100.45 million for the third quarter
05:04 from $872.4 million a year earlier.
05:07 The big earnings contraction was mainly due to a one-off gain of $1.06 billion
05:12 from the divestment of its asset management business a year ago.
05:16 It is worth noting that the hefty divestment gain lifted the banking group
05:20 from a net loss from continuing operations amounting to $193.5 million
05:25 to a net profit of $872.4 million.
05:28 The group's net loss was weighed down by allowances for credit impairment losses
05:32 of $233.5 million previously.
05:35 However, the bank pointed out that its earnings were impacted by net interest margin compression
05:40 due to elevated cost of funds.
05:42 Net income dropped by 6.3% to $500.4 million
05:46 as the impact of higher interest expenses was cushioned by net gain
05:49 on financial instruments plus other income.
05:52 As of end September, gross impaired loan ratio had recorded an improvement to 1.84%
05:57 compared with 1.91% a year ago.
06:00 President and Group CEO Datuk Wan Razli Abdullah said
06:03 2023 had been challenging amid margin compression
06:07 due to elevated cost of funds led by the US Federal Reserve.
06:11 He notes that the group had made progress in its current account savings account strategy,
06:15 which had grown 21.4% year-on-year to $16.6 billion,
06:19 and the strategy will be powered by the launch of the new often-always mobile app.
06:24 These developments are aimed at countering global challenges by bolstering CASA
06:28 and staying on track with the group's long-term A25 transformation plan.
06:32 Wan Razli notes that the group had successfully issued the second additional Tier 1 capital
06:36 and the first Tier 2 issuance of Afin Islamic Bank for the year in October.
06:41 Selkom Digi saw its third quarter net profit jump 72% year-on-year
06:50 from $264.5 million to $455.7 million.
06:55 However, after adjustments to reflect the Selkom Digi merger,
06:59 PAT before adjusting for minority interest slipped 3.77% from the third quarter of FY2022
07:06 as the telco had revised the useful life of its assets and rationalized its sights.
07:10 As a result, it depreciated some assets faster than a year ago,
07:14 which ate into its earnings since the fourth quarter of FY2022.
07:18 On a quarter-and-quarter basis, earnings improved 33%,
07:22 helped by lower regulatory and network-related costs and lower marketing spend.
07:26 The improved quarter-and-quarter performance was despite a marginal 0.61% increase in revenue
07:31 to $3.1 billion from $3.12 billion on softer device sales and lower postpaid revenue,
07:37 while prepaid and home and fiber revenues improved due to increased subscribers and data adoption.
07:43 The group added 123,000 subscribers in the quarter, expanding its base to 20.6 million.
07:49 It declared a third interim dividend of $0.033 per share,
07:52 bringing total dividends for FY2023 to $0.097 per share.
07:57 Commenting on these results, CEO Dato' Idam Nawawi said that the group is happy
08:02 with the progress made on the overall business integration,
08:05 especially in delivering the country's widest and fastest network,
08:08 while its focus on market execution and prudent cost management contributed to its solid performance.
08:14 He also points out that Selkom Digi had launched its new brand in October,
08:17 which Idam says enables the telco to serve its customers more seamlessly
08:21 and introduce new offerings into the market.
08:24 Media Chinese International expects to record losses attributable to owners of the company
08:34 of between US$4.5 million to US$5.5 million for the six months ending September 30, 2023,
08:42 compared with the profit attributable of US$1 million reported a year earlier.
08:48 In a BOSS filing, MCIL said this increase is primarily attributed to the absence
08:53 of one-off government grants and subsidies of approximately US$1.9 million recognised last year.
08:59 Additionally, there is a decrease in turnover from the publishing and printing segment
09:04 for the six-month period compared with the corresponding period in the previous year.
09:08 MCIL issued this profit warning to its shareholders and potential investors
09:12 based on a preliminary assessment of its unaudited consolidated management accounts
09:17 and the information currently available to the board.
09:19 [Music]