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。。 continue to gain market share over the coming year, helping to support growth more broadly,” he told StarBiz.
Potential softening in commodity prices would still constitute a risk, said Neumann, though the impact on Malaysia’s economy will likely be manageable as long as the country continues to expand its footprint in key manufacturing supply chains, such as semiconductors and electronics more broadly.
However, he cautioned that export growth could still slow in the coming months in line with a broader pullback in global trade after the tariff front-loading effect fades, and demand in the United States cools.
“Cooling import growth of intermediate goods already points to a slowing in manufacturing activity.
“On the other hand, given ongoing capacity expansion in Malaysia, and the country’s competitiveness in the broader semiconductor supply chain, Malaysia shipments should continue to gain m
In tandem, the Statistics Department reported that the trade surplus rose significantly by 58.9% y-o-y from RM12bil to RM19bil last month.
Chief Asia economist and co-head of Global Investment Research Asia at HSBC, Frederic Neumann, believes that Malaysia is defying signs of a slowdown elsewhere in the region, which in part reflected the strong global demand for electronics and semiconductors, which the country specialises in.
The country’s trade strengthened in October 2025, with total trade increasing 13.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM277.6bil from RM244.5bil, representing the largest trade value ever recorded in Malaysia’s history.
According to the Statistics Department, the performance was driven by an export growth of 15.7% and an import growth of 11.2%, which surged to RM148.3bil and RM129.3bil, respectively, also representing the highest export and import on record.
