Pics of Westports in Pulau Indah. AZMAN GHANI / The Star Budget - PPR flats for Budget story.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia last month posted its first net improvement in manufacturing operating conditions since March 2015, supported by higher output and growth in new export orders, according to a poll.
Nikkei and survey compiler IHT Markit said in a statement that the headline Nikkei Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose above 50 for the first time in two years to 50.7 in April (March: 49.5).
Output volumes rose for a third month in a row during April. While growth was again modest, the statement said April’s survey snapped a 25-month run of falling new business, amid reports of strengthened demand from abroad.
The April survey showed that new export orders rose at a solid pace that was the best since July 2014, helping to offset ongoing weakness from domestic-based clients. “China, Europe, Japan and the Middle East were all notable sources of new sales success,” it said.
“With output rising at a slightly faster rate than new business over the month, manufacturers were able to make inroads into their backlogs of work outstanding. April’s survey marked the first time that backlogs have fallen in 2017 so far, with the decline the greatest recorded for a year,” Nikkei and IHT Markit said.
Commenting on the Malaysian Manufacturing PMI survey data, IHS Markit senior economist Paul Smith said: “April’s survey marked a somewhat positive turnaround for the Malaysian manufacturing economy, with output and new orders rising concurrently for the first time in over two years.
“Growth is being underpinned by strengthened sales from abroad, which has helped to offset ongoing domestic demand weakness.
“With export growth also possibly supported by relative currency weakness, the corollary was a further sharp rise in input costs, with firms seeking to pass these on wherever possible to clients.”
The Nikkei Malaysia Manufacturing PMI is based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives in over 450 industrial companies.
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