KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 21): Malaysian manufacturers are bracing for a slowdown in the second half of 2019 (2H19), after business activity in 1H19 fell to its lowest since 2012, amid global economic and political uncertainties.
 
Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Datuk Soh Thian Lai said today that local manufacturers are cautious on business outlook, due to uncertainties over the US-China trade war and Brexit. 

Citing the latest FMM-MIER Business Conditions Survey which involved 509 respondents across 16 industry sub-sectors, Soh said "only 29% of the respondents are projecting a pick-up in business activity".

Soh was speaking at a press conference here today, in conjunction with the release of the FMM-MIER Business Conditions Survey for 1H19.

The survey, carried out jointly with the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER), revealed that the general business activity index for 1H19 fell 29 points to 78 from 2H18, the lowest reading since the survey’s inception seven years ago. 

According to Soh, all indices tracked by the survey fell during 1H19, compared to 2H18. These gauges include the export sales and production barometers.

He said weak demand resulted in a 34-point decline in the export sales index to an all-time low of 73, while the production barometer plummeted 29 points to 82, its lowest reading since 1H12.