Author name: WebMaster

Posted Date: November 3, 2021 MARC will be hosting the second instalment of the MARC360 conference series, MARC360: SUSTAINABLE INFRA 2021 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE over two half-days on November 25-26, 2021. For this iteration, the virtual conference will focus on sustainable infrastructure as well as the ongoing issues and trends in the sector. The infrastructure sector …

MARC to host MARC360: Sustainable Infra 2021 Virtual Conference Read More »

Posted Date: November 01, 2021 In September, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) set the stage for swifter rate hikes and commencement of its tapering plan. In its latest Federal Open Market Committee statement, the Fed upgraded its median Federal Funds Rate (FFR) projections for 2022 and 2023 to 0.3% and 1.0% (June: 0.1% and 0.6%). …

Sea of red across global bond markets amid hawkish risks and inflation fears Read More »

Posted Date: October 27, 2021 On August 31, 2021, the government unveiled its maiden Pre-Budget Statement (PBS) aimed at offering greater fiscal formulation transparency. In the document, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) noted that Budget 2022 would comprise the following themes: i) protecting lives and driving the recovery of livelihoods; ii) rebuilding economic resilience; and …

Budget 2022: Gradual reopening with concerns over supply-demand mismatch Read More »

Posted Date: October 12, 2021 After a year of delay, the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) was finally unveiled by the Prime Minister on September 27, 2021. The 532-page official document starts by taking stock of the Vision 2020 and 11MP achievements but falls short of weighing the rationale and costs of unmet targets. The lack …

The 12th Malaysia Plan Read More »

Posted Date: October 5, 2021 MARC has recently been awarded the Best Islamic Rating Agency of the Year 2021 at the 11th Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA). This is the sixth time in a row since 2016 that MARC has won this accolade, the most prestigious award for Islamic rating services. This repeated achievement shows …

MARC named Best Islamic Rating Agency at Global Islamic Finance Awards 2021 Read More »

Posted Date: October 4, 2021 Foreign investors resumed their net buying activities in August after being net sellers in the previous two months. Foreign inflows into the local bond market in August amounted to RM6.6 billion, offsetting the outflows that occurred in June and July which amounted to RM4.1 billion. Foreign holdings amounted to RM250.4 …

Foreign investors return to Malaysia’s bond market in August Read More »

Posted Date: September 13, 2021 In a Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) released on September 9, 2021, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) decided to hold the overnight policy rate (OPR) unchanged at 1.75%. This is in line with our expectations. The MPS signalled no imminent changes in the OPR, which has been at a record low since …

BNM signals no imminent changes in the OPR Read More »

Posted Date: September 1, 2021 In July, as the global pandemic crisis deepens, global government bonds including Malaysian Government Securities (MGS) have rallied. MGS performance mimicked the US Treasury market as investors flocked towards safe-haven assets. The rally was spurred by the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, amplifying expectations the US economic growth …

Local bonds rally in July in tandem with global bonds Read More »

Posted Date: August 20, 2021 As expected, Malaysia’s economy posted a sharp turnaround in 2Q2021 after four consecutive quarters of contraction. While it was the highest quarterly growth ever recorded, the performance did not offset the deep contraction in last year’s corresponding period. The economy shrank 3.9% compared to 2Q2019, so it still fell short …

A strong rebound, but still far from a full recovery Read More »

Posted Date: August 12, 2021 In 2Q2021, we envisage a sharp turnaround in Malaysia’s real GDP growth on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis to 13.2%, compared with -0.5% recorded in 1Q2021. Such promising performance will likely be Malaysia’s highest quarterly growth ever recorded. The double-digit growth primarily reflects a favourable base effect as the economy contracted …

2Q2021 GDP Growth: Base effect–driven rebound expected Read More »