This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 8, 2018 - January 14, 2018

THE second week of this year will see the release of Malaysia’s industrial production, retail sales and natural rubber statistics for November 2017, as well as several key US economic indicators.

The November Industrial Production Index (IPI) will be published on Jan 11. Analysts have said that they expect to see stronger numbers after weaker-than-expected growth of 3.4% year on year in October last year — a 13-month low — which missed market expectations of a 4.1% growth.

MIDF Research says exports to China grew at an 11-month low last October amid a slowdown in China’s IPI and retail sales performance during the month, which translated into lower growth in the manufacturing production of electrical and engineering, petroleum-related and transport machinery products.

However, the research house expects Malaysia’s IPI to have returned to a solid pace in November, backed by double-digit growth in China’s external trade, as exports climbed 12.3% y-o-y and imports gained 17.7% y-o-y. It expects to see an average IPI growth of 4.8% in 2017, versus 3.8% in 2016.

The Department of Statistics will be releasing retail sales data and statistics on natural rubber on Jan 12. Retail sales grew 9% y-o-y to RM98.1 billion in October, supported by increases in retail trade (8.5%) and wholesale trade (7.6%).

Retail sales performance for 2017 is not expected to be great as Malaysia recorded a 1.1% y-o-y decline in sales performance for the third quarter of the year. Retail Group Malaysia has also revised down its retail sales growth target for the year to 2.2% from 3.7% previously.

Several countries in the region — including China, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand — will be releasing their foreign exchange reserves data during the week, while Taiwan and the Philippines will be releasing their trade numbers.

Other key data releases by Asian countries are China’s inflation data and South Korea’s unemployment data.

Meanwhile, the US government will be releasing several data points such as export prices, the monthly federal budget, Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index.

US inflation is expected to remain low amid slower wage growth, which has affected the greenback and capped long-term bond yields.

Other notable events in Malaysia throughout the week include the launch of the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show on Jan 9, which will be officiated by Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

Several research houses will be providing their outlook for this year, with Nomura’s 2018 Malaysia Economic and Equities Outlook briefing and Frost & Sullivan’s annual outlook on the automotive sector expected on Jan 9 and Moody’s APAC Sovereign Outlook to be held on Jan 10.

Binasat Communications Bhd, a telecommunications support service provider, is slated to list on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia on Jan 8.

The public portion of its initial public offering has been oversubscribed by 34.23 times. It received 10,465 applications for 458.02 million shares compared with the 13 million shares made available for public subscription at 46 sen apiece.

Binasat has earmarked RM4.9 million for the enhancement of its operations and maintenance services, and RM4.8 million to enhance its fibre optic network capability. Another RM1.5 million has been allocated for its expansion into Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

The balance of the proceeds will be used for working capital purposes and to cover the listing expenses.

Singapore-based foundation CopyCash will be holding an initial coin offering on Jan 10 for CopyCashCoin, which will serve as a payment mechanism in the CopyCash ecosystem.

Leveraging Ethereum’s blockchain platform, CopyCash allows for public participation in foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, indices and stocks markets by copying the top traders in the community.

The Securities Commission Malaysia, in a recent statement, says the activities carried out by CopyCash may fall within the remit of securities laws and that it will be calling in key officers of the foundation to inquire into its activities.

Companies that will be holding meetings this week include AirAsia Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd, SYF Resources Bhd, Premier Nalfin Bhd, KESM Industries Bhd and Yong Tai Bhd.

AirAsia will be holding a court-convened meeting (CCM) on Jan 8 for the reorganisation of the enlarged group, which will see AirAsia Group Bhd assuming the listing status of AirAsia and its regional associates in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

The low-cost carrier will be holding an extraordinary general meeting after the CCM to get shareholders’ approval on the proposed internal reorganisation.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's AppStore and Androids' Google Play.