The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- 50 halal firms to benefit from project
- Global economy likely to perform better this year
- StanChart economist sees growth in investment inflows into Malaysia in 2013
| 50 halal firms to benefit from project Posted: 07 Jan 2013 05:55 PM PST SUBANG JAYA: Fifty companies from the halal industry are expected to benefit from a special pilot project spearheaded by the Department of Standards Malaysia to help them understand and better implement halal requirements. Helping local players to be self-sufficient, Standards Malaysia has initiated a series of activities for businesses to ride on the waves of the expanding halal industry, said its director general Fadilah Baharin at the preview of Malaysia's first in-depth research report on the halal industry. According to her, the halal industry grew 75% between 2010 and 2011 and expected it to grow further. Globally, the halal market is estimated to be RM6.3 trillion annually while in the first half of 2012, RM16bil worth of halal products and services were exported from the country. "Malaysian businesses can tap on the extensive opportunities in the industry to increase the amount of exports," she said. Through workshops and an in-depth research, which involved 650 consumers and 350 industry players, industry players are expected to benefit from the insights provided, she added. Findings of the research will be published in the Malaysia Halal Industry Market Report 2012. One of the key insights of the research indicated that the interpretation of halal' was currently limited to pork and alcohol-free processes. However, there was a lack of understanding on Halalan Toyyiban', which sets criteria on safety, hygiene and cleanliness, she said. |
| Global economy likely to perform better this year Posted: 07 Jan 2013 05:55 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR: The global economy in 2013 would be better than 2012 despite the challenges in the United States and the "mess" in Europe, said an economist. "This year, will grow faster than 2012. We expect 2.8% global growth this year versus 2.2% achieved last year," Standard Chartered Bank global head of macro research Marios Maratheftis told participants at a briefing. He opined that growth in the United States is set to pick up in the second half of the year, as the tightening effects of the fiscal cliff and debt ceiling would be felt most acutely during the first six months. "Things would have been much worse without an agreement on the fiscal cliff, but even with the agreement, we are not getting what we need for the US economy. "It is simply less bad than it would have been without the agreement," he said. He added: "It is time for new ideas. Historically, policymakers relied on interest rates to manage growth and inflation, with a rate hike used to curb overheating and easing to spur growth." "This time around, it is not enough," Maratheftis said, asserting that the Federal Reserve has done everything at its disposal to promote growth. "Now, it has to come from the Government. If quantitative easing and monetary easing are inadequate, then the Government must increase its spending. "Is that going to happen? No, because the fiscal cliff agreement involves fiscal tightening, which means the US government will be spending less this year than 2012." Maratheftis noted that although the bank remained positive about the United States, the world's largest economy had yet to grow sufficiently to compensate for the jobs lost during the 2008-2009 recession. "The second half will be an improvement over the first half, though growth will be unexciting, given the lack of stimulus measures," he said. On the risk of capital outflows back to the United States, Maratheftis explained that the repatriation of funds was more common in bad times than good. "However, manufacturing in Asia could experience rebalancing, as the region becomes more expensive," he said. |
| StanChart economist sees growth in investment inflows into Malaysia in 2013 Posted: 07 Jan 2013 05:55 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is in a sweet spot, buttressed by a high level of confidence, accommodative policies and domestic growth drivers, according to a Standard Chartered Bank economist. And private investment inflows, despite coming off a high base of 20% last year, could still see growth in the "high teens" this year, the bank's head of regional research for South-East Asia Edward Lee told reporters after an economics briefing yesterday. "Both public and private investments have been flowing in nicely, that's comforting. As a share of total investment, private investment is currently higher than government spending," he said, naming the construction, financial services and real estate sectors as potential winners in Malaysia's domestic-led growth. "Construction is only 3% to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) but it has a high multiplier effect," he said. Lee noted that Malaysia's share of the foreign direct investment into Asean is about 10%, adding that while this figure did not appear substantial, the region was extremely competitive. The overall positive sentiment in the domestic economy could, in fact, be a prelude to an interest rate hike in the latter part of the year, Lee explained. "Given how the economy has expanded, we should expect some tightening. For now, we forecast that the overnight policy rate may rise by 25 basis points in late-2013," he said, pointing out that demand-side factors, such as a wage increase and wealth effects, and the planned subsidy rationalisation, may add to inflationary pressure. But price rises should remain stable at below 3%, he noted. "We are also hearing positive noises about the Economic Transformation Programme, as they are starting to realise the investments," he said. On the downside risks, Lee cited Malaysia's trade exposure, which accounts for 150% of GDP. Manufacturing and trade-related activities, he said, were likely to continue to be soft on the back of stuttering growth in Europe and the United States. Asked about the upcoming polls, Lee said the outcome was "hard to predict". "The important thing is clarity and good economic policies, regardless of the politics. I went to Myanmar recently and the key takeaway was that regardless of politics, the economy must grow," he said. |
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