Download Vol 16, Issue 12. Dec 2011

MONTHLY NEWS SCAN
Tinjauan Berita Bulanan
Compiled by IDS
Vol. 16 Issue 12
(For internal circulation only)
HIGHLIGHTS
FOKUS
• Lagarde: No country’s economy
immune from rising risks
• Japan exports slide as BOJ sees
weakness
• Eksport berkembang 6%
• Services sector is new engine of
growth
• RM200m Telupid new township
• Sabah growth projects show
good results
INTERNATIONAL
ANTARABANGSA
Lagarde: No country’s economy
immune from rising risks: IMF
head Christine Lagarde has said the
world economic outlook is “gloomy”
and no country is immune from rising
risks. She said all nations, starting
with Europe, needed to head off a
crisis with risks of a global
depression. “There is no economy in
the world immune from the crisis that
we not only see unfolding but
escalating,” she said. “It is going to
be hopefully resolved by all
countries, all regions actually taking
action.” (15 December, BBC News)
Japan exports slide as BOJ sees
weakness: Japan’s exports fell and
the central bank lowered its
assessment of the economy for a
second straight month as weakening
demand in Europe and Asia weigh on
the outlook for global growth.
Shipments dropped a more-thanexpected 4.5 percent in November
from a year earlier, a Ministry of
Finance report showed today in
Tokyo. The Bank of Japan separately
kept its asset-buying fund and creditlending program unchanged, even as
it said that a pick-up in activity has
paused. (21 December, Bloomberg)
Australia’s
economy
expands
2.5%, led by mining: Australia’s
economy grew more than expected in
the third quarter, driven by building
and mining activity. Gross domestic
product (GDP) rose 2.5% in the three
months till the end of September
from the same period a year earlier,
the statistical bureau said. Analysts
1 – 31 December 2011
1 – 31 December 2011
IDS Online http://www.ids.org.my
expected a gain of 2.1%, and the
Australian dollar rose slightly on the
news. Despite the stronger growth,
there are fears about coming quarters
with a slowdown expected in Europe
and China. (7 December, BBC News)
Singapore’s factory output declines
9.6% in November: Singapore’s
factory output fell in November after
a drop in electronics manufacturing
caused by slowing demand and
supply chain issues. Industrial
production fell by 9.6% from a year
earlier, with electronics production
down 30.1%. While floods in
Thailand disrupted supplies of
components, the debt crisis in the
eurozone and a slowdown in the US
hurt demand for electronic goods. (23
December, BBC News)
South Korea jobless rate holds at
three-year low of 3.1% on service
sector: South Korea’s unemployment
rate held at a three-year low last
month as service industries hired
more workers to meet growing
demand. The jobless rate stood at 3.1
percent in November, unchanged
from October, Statistics Korea said
today in Gwacheon, south of Seoul.
The median estimate in a Bloomberg
News survey of 10 economists was
for a rate of 3.2 percent. South
Korea’s job market is showing
resilience even as the deepening debt
crisis in Europe and slowing global
growth threaten to cool an economy
that has grown for 11 straight
quarters. (14 December, Bloomberg)
New Zealand fourth quarter
consumer confidence index falls,
westpac
says:
New
Zealand
consumer confidence slumped in the
fourth quarter on concern the
European debt crisis may lead to a
global economic slowdown and
tighter credit, a private survey
showed. An index of household
sentiment fell to 101.3 from 112 in
the third quarter, Westpac Banking
Corp. (WBC) and McDermott Miller
Ltd. said in an e-mailed report.
Confidence is the lowest since the
first quarter, immediately after an
earthquake devastated the South
Island city of Christchurch. (19
December, Bloomberg)
German exports drop as southern
Europe markets shrink: German
exports fell 3.6% in October as
demand from crisis-hit southern
European markets shrank, data
shows. It was the biggest fall in six
months, and much bigger than the 1%
decline expected by markets. German
imports shrank by 1% versus a month
earlier - also more than expected suggesting demand is also weakening
in Europe’s biggest economy. The
country’s trade surplus fell from
17.3bn to 11.6bn euros ($15.5bn;
£9.9bn), or about 5.5% of its GDP.
“We are seeing the beginning of a
strong hit to German exports,” said
Holger Schmiedling, economist at
Berenberg Bank. (9 December, BBC
News)
Russia becomes WTO member
after 18 years of talks: Russia has
finally joined the World Trade
Organization (WTO) at a ceremony
in Switzerland on Friday, after 18
years negotiating its membership.
The Swiss brokered a deal between
Russia and Georgia earlier this year
that removed the last obstacle to
Russia’s accession. Georgia had tried
to block Russia’s WTO entry since
the two countries fought a short war
in 2008. Russia was by far the
biggest economy yet to join the
global trade body. It is also the last
member of the Group of 20 major
economies to join, after China gained
membership in 2001. (16 December,
BBC News)
China’s manufacturing activity
falls to a 32-month low: China’s
manufacturing activity fell to a 32month low in November, hurt by a
slowdown in the global economy.
China’s official Purchasing Managers
Index (PMI) fell to 49.0 in
November, the lowest level since
March 2009. The industry survey
data comes amid concerns that a
slowdown in the global economy
may dent demand for Chinese goods
and hurt its economy. PMI is a key
indicator of manufacturing activity
and a reading below 50 shows
contraction. This is the first time in
almost three years that the figure has
fallen below the crucial 50 mark.
(1 December, BBC News)
MONTHLY NEWS SCAN (Tinjauan Berita Bulanan)
1
NATIONAL
NASIONAL
Eksport
berkembang
6%:
Perbadanan
Pembangunan
Perdagangan
Luar
Malaysia
(Matrade) mengunjurkan pasaran
eksport negara berkembang sekitar
enam peratus tahun depan meskipun
berdepan dengan keadaan ekonomi
dunia yang tidak menentu. Ketua
Pegawai Eksekutifnya, Wong Lai
Sum berkata, pasaran eksport negara
tetap mempunyai permintaan yang
tinggi
kerana
kebanyakan
daripadanya
adalah
barangan
keperluan. “Walaupun ekonomi
meleset atau kuasa beli semakin
kurang,
ini
tidak
bermakna
permintaan terhadap barangan turut
akan jatuh. (8 Disember, Utusan
Malaysia)
Services sector is new engine of
growth: The services sector is
overtaking manufacturing as the main
contributor to economic growth. This
will have vast implications on where
people are going to find work and
what skills they will need to get
employed. The government’s growth
target is very clear: To become a
developed nation by 2020. Using a
World Bank definition, that means
having a per capita income of
RM49,500 (US$15,000) by the end
of the decade. The per capita income
level in 2010 was RM23,100
(US$7,000). This is an ambitious
target and requires gross domestic
product (GDP) growth of at least 7
percent per year. (20 December,
Business Times)
RM275mil for rubber replanting
and planting of new trees:
Malaysian Rubber Board expects
some RM275mil will be invested
under the rubber National Key
Economic Area (NKEA) mainly
involving replanting and new
plantings of rubber trees nationwide,
said director-general Datuk Dr
Salmiah Ahmad. In 2012, she said,
active replanting activities would
cover about 38,000ha per year
focusing mainly on Peninsular
Malaysia while new plantings would
cover about 5,000ha each in Sarawak
and Sabah. “While we might face
some shortages in planting materials
next year, this is already being
addressed
at
our
nurseries
1 – 31 December 2011
nationwide,” she told StarBiz. (29
December, The Star)
FDI: Inisiatif kerajaan jadi
pemangkin 10 terbaik: Inisiatif
yang dilaksanakan kerajaan seperti
Program Transformasi Ekonomi
(ETP) dan transformasi politik
merupakan pemangkin kepada negara
untuk muncul sebagai sebagai 10
negara terbaik bagi pelaburan
langsung asing (FDI). Menteri
Perdagangan
Antarabangsa
dan
Industri, Datuk Seri Mustapa
Mohamed
berkata,
banyak
pembaharuan
yang
dilakukan
kerajaan telah berjaya menjadikan
Malaysia destinasi menarik untuk
FDI.
“Peningkatan
kedudukan
Malaysia di tangga ke 10 negara
menarik FDI berbanding di tangga 21
pada tahun lalu menunjukkan
kejayaan inisiatif-inisiatif kerajaan
telah mengukuhkan minat pelabur. (9
Disember, Utusan Malaysia)
Malaysia Nov CPI likely to show
inflation has peaked: The Consumer
Price Index has probably peaked in
Malaysia although food prices are
likely to continue to provide inflation
nary pressures in November, said
economists. A Business Times poll
expects the CPI, the official
barometer of inflation, to grow by an
average 3.09 per cent year-on-year
from 3.4 percent in October. Gundy
Cahyadi of OCBC Bank expects
inflation levels to soften in 2012. (21
December, Business Times)
Malaysia Jan-Oct total trade tops
RM1tril: Asian market spurred
Malaysia’s total trade between
January and October, breaching RM1
trillion mark, with exports clinching
15.8 per cent growth, the highest
monthly figure ever recorded.
Exports surged by 9.1 per cent to
RM557.16 billion, while imports rose
by 8.5 per cent to RM474.72 billion,
bringing total trade to RM1.052
trillion, up by 8.8 per cent, resulting
in RM102.44 billion trade surplus.
Announcing the trade figures today,
International Trade and Industry
Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa
Mohamed said exports maintained a
steady growth momentum, recording
RM63.57 billion in October, the
highest monthly exports ever
registered, up by 15.8 percent
compared with a year ago. (9
December, Business Times)
Malaysia industrial output seen
easier in Oct: Industrial output is
expected to ease in October on the
back of a slowing external demand as
well as base effects, said economists.
A Business Times poll expects the
index to post a 1.73 per cent year-onyear average growth. Bank of
America Merrill Lynch economist Dr
Chua Hak Bin said industrial
production expanded at a slower pace
as weaker global external demand
slowed manufacturing output, which
he expects to grow by 5.3 percent.
Citi also expects manufacturing
output to moderate on unfavourable
base effects as well as weakness in
overall manufacturing activity. (8
December, Business Times)
Manufacturing investments hit
RM40.7b: Investments in Malaysia’s
manufacturing
sector
reached
RM40.7 billion in the first 10 months
of 2011 and the full-year figure is
expected to surpass last year’s
numbers. In 2010, total investments
from local and foreign investors
stood at RM47.2 billion, 45 percent
more than 2009. The five leading
sources of foreign investments were
the United States, Japan, Hong Kong,
Singapore and Germany who
invested mainly in electrical and
electronics, and basic metal products.
Trade and Industry Minister Datuk
Seri Mustapa Mohamed
said
domestic investments have increased
in response to the call by the
government for local investors to
assume a prominent role under the
Economic
Transformation
Programme. (6 December, Business
Times)
Malaysia
destinasi
pelaburan
penting
Denmark:
Malaysia
dianggap sebagai salah sebuah
destinasi pelaburan terpenting bagi
Denmark apabila dengan kejayaan
merekodkan
hasil
perdagangan
mencecah 200 peratus keluaran
dalam negara kasar (KDNK) pada
tahun lalu. Duta Denmark ke
Malaysia, H.E Svend Waever
berkata, pelaburan Denmark di
Malaysia pada tahun 2010 berjumlah
RM2.23 bilion. “Malaysia merupakan
antara lokasi perdagangan yang
rancak dalam dunia buat masa ini.
Pelaburan asing langsung (FDI) ke
Malaysia bagi tahun lalu sahaja
mencatatkan sebanyak RM28 bilion.
(2 Disember, Utusan Malaysia)
MONTHLY NEWS SCAN (Tinjauan Berita Bulanan)
2
LOCAL
TEMPATAN
RM200m Telupid new township: A
new township will be developed in
Telupid. Bandar Baru Telupid Jaya, a
project costing RM200 million, will
be launched in early January next
year. It is a modern commercial
centre comprising multi-purpose twostorey shoplots which are ideal for
operating retail shops, offices,
supermarkets, banks, restaurants,
hotels and a petrol station. Telupid is
about 90 minutes drive from
Sandakan. The township which is
joint venture project between
Syarikat Kesemua Sdn Bhd and a
local Bumiputra entrepreneur will be
built on a 60-acre site near the
highway linking Kota Kinabalu to the
east coast towns of Sandakan, Tawau
and Lahad Datu. (30 December, New
Sabah Times)
Sabah growth projects show good
results: The government’s decision
to establish the Sabah Development
Corridor (SDC) in 2008 has begun to
yield results with cumulative
investment committed breaching
RM63 billion as at last month. More
than RM16 billion of the investment
committed has been realised. The
figures did not include the amount
spent on new SDC entry point
projects identified following the
Regional Cities and Corridors Lab,
which will only be announced during
its Open Day, scheduled for early
next year. (16 Business Times)
11,903 isi rumah terima manfaat
RM116 juta: Kerajaan negeri telah
menyalurkan sebanyak RM116 juta
bagi melaksanakan program 1Azam
(Akhiri Zaman Miskin) di negeri ini
sejak penghujung 2010. Timbalan
Ketua Menteri, Datuk Yahya Hussin
berkata, seramai 11,903 ketua isi
rumah miskin tegar dan miskin di
negeri ini mendapat manfaat daripada
program itu setakat ini. “Setakat 15
Disember tahun ini Kementerian
Pertanian dan Industri Makanan
negeri telah pun mencapai sasaran 95
peratus yang telah dibantu daripada
12,500
yang
disasarkan.
(24
Disember, Utusan Malaysia)
Peruntukan RM50,000 dilulus beri
peluang pekebun kecil lakukan
program
ternak
kambing:
Kementerian
Perusahaan,
1 – 31 December 2011
Perladangan
dan
Komoditi
meluluskan peruntukan sebanyak
RM50,000 untuk memberi peluang
kepada
pekebun-pekebun
kecil
menjalankan
program
ternakan
kambing di daerah ini. Timbalan
Menterinya,
Dato’
Hamzah
Zainuddin, berkata dengan adanya
peruntukan tersebut sudah pasti
membantu mereka meningkatkan
ekonomi masing-masing tambahan
pula ternakan kambing berpotensi
berkembang maju asalkan diusahakan
secara
bersungguh-sungguh.
(9
Disember, New Sabah Times)
Sabah
tumpu
perkasakan
pengeluaran
makanan
2012:
Kementerian Pertanian dan Industri
Makanan Sabah akan memberi fokus
kepada
usaha
memperkasakan
infrastruktur yang terlibat dengan
pengeluaran
sumber
makanan,
terutama beras mulai tahun depan.
Timbalan Ketua Menteri, Datuk
Yahya Hussin berkata, kementerian
itu menerima RM132 juta dalam
Bajet 2012 dengan Jabatan Pertanian
Negeri diperuntukan RM40.78 juta.
“Fokus utama kementerian tahun
depan adalah untuk memperhebatkan
lagi pembangunan sektor pertanian di
Sabah
dengan
memperkasa
infrastruktur dalam pengeluaran
sumber makanan,” katanya. (12
Disember, Utusan Malaysia)
Sawit Kinabalu beri sumbangan
besar ekonomi Sabah – Musa:
Syarikat milik penuh kerajaan negeri,
Sawit Kinabalu terus memberi
sumbangan
memberangsangkan
dengan merekodkan cukai jualan
sebanyak RM51 juta sehingga
Oktober tahun ini. Ketua Menteri,
Datuk Seri Musa Aman berkata,
sumbangan besar itu telah memberi
manfaat kepada kerajaan negeri
dalam
memacu
pertumbuhan
ekonomi Sabah. Bagaimanapun,
beliau berharap syarikat itu terus
meningkatkan prestasi setanding
dengan syarikat gergasi kelapa sawit
lain di negara ini. “Dengan mencatat
jumlah keuntungan sebelum cukai
sebanyak RM202 juta pada akhir
2010,
Sawit
Kinabalu
telah
menunjukkan
prestasi
yang
cemerlang. (9 Disember, Utusan
Malaysia)
Six villages picked to develop
Sabah
handicraft
industry:
Kampung Sebait, near Sandakan, is
one of six villages in the State picked
by the Sabah Foundation to develop
the handicraft industry for an eightyear period. Sabah Foundation Group
Director, Tan Sri Datu Khalil Datu
Jamalul, said free basic skills training
would be provided for the villages to
boost awareness on the potential of
the industry. He said 32 training
programmes in handicraft had been
implemented
involving
1,026
participants, since July. “Other than
encouraging
creativity
and
innovation, the effort is aimed at
increasing the income of the
villagers,” he said at the closing of
the Excellent Village Handicraft
Week by Chief Minister Datuk Seri
Musa Aman at Kampung Sebait, near
Sandakan, Saturday. (18 December,
Daily Express)
Industri ternakan meningkat:
Industri ternakan di negeri ini
diyakini
mampu
menampung
keperluan sumber makanan penduduk
dan
mengurangkan
kadar
kebergantungan barangan import di
Sabah. Menteri Pertanian dan Industri
Makanan negeri, Datuk Seri Yahya
Hussin
berkata,
pengeluaran
makanan berasaskan ternakan seperti
daging, susu dan telur semakin
meningkat di negeri ini berdasarkan
kesungguhan
kerajaan
negeri
memperkayakan bidang penternakan.
Yahya yang juga Timbalan Ketua
Menteri berkata, bukan sahaja bidang
penternakan berjaya menyumbang
kepada penjimatan jumlah import
makanan luar negara, malah, ia
banyak
membantu
golongan
berpendapatan
rendah
menjana
pendapatan. (8 Disember, Utusan
Malaysia)
Masalah penduduk luar bandar
diutamakan: Kerajaan akan terus
memberi keutamaan kepada masalah
penduduk
luar
bandar
bagi
memastikan
mereka
sentiasa
mendapat pembelaan sewajarnya.
Sehubungan itu, Timbalan Menteri
Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar
negeri, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup berkata,
pelbagai program akan dilaksanakan
secara berterusan bagi meningkatkan
taraf hidup penduduk luar bandar.
“Program pembangunan dan bantuan
yang akan dilaksanakan oleh kerajaan
merangkumi prasarana pendidikan,
kesihatan, bekalan air bersih, elektrik,
jalan raya dan kemudahan asas. (2
Disember, Utusan Malaysia)
MONTHLY NEWS SCAN (Tinjauan Berita Bulanan)
3
SELECTED FACTS AND FIGURES
FAKTA MUTAKHIR
AUTRALIA ECONOMY
GDP GROWTH RATE
(% QUATER ON QUATER, SEASONALLY ADJUSTED)
(Source: 8 December, Business Times)
ASIAN DEEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) OUTLOOK EMERGING EAST ASIA
GDP GROWTH, %
Includes ASEAN countries plus China, HK, South Korea, S’pore & Taiwan
(Source: 7 December, Business Times)
JAPAN INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT MONTHLY, % CHANGE
1 – 31 December 2011
MONTHLY NEWS SCAN (Tinjauan Berita Bulanan)
4
(Source: 29 December, Business Times)
MALAYSIA RETAIL INDUSTRY QUARTERLY GROWTH RATE 2011
Quarter
(%) growth rate
5.1
9.1
7.0
*5.0
*6.5
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Whole year
*estimate
(Source: 30 December, The Star)
MALAYSIA'S PLANTATION COMMODITY EXPORTS
(RM BILLION)
f: forecast
(Source:30 December, Business Times)
1 – 31 December 2011
MONTHLY NEWS SCAN (Tinjauan Berita Bulanan)
5