[Malaysia sebenarnya amat bergantung kepada sektor elektronik dan petrokimia untuk terus bernafas tetapi kelembapan ekonomi Amerika bakal membuat ramai pihak tercedera khususnya mereka yang begitu angkuh mendabik dada kununnya lebih pandai menguruskan ekonomi negara.

Sektor elektronik menyumbang 60% ekspot negara, dan ia telah jatuh 9.4% pada Disember lepas. Banyak syarikat A.S. sudah membuang pekerja yang tidak perlu dan menyusun semula syarikat tetapi Malaysia masih meraba dan bukan sahaja tetap menyimpan mahluk perosak dalam syarikat besar-besar, malah telah menambah bilangan mereka. Yang cekap dan bijak (seperti Tajuddin Ali) disisihkan kerana ada dana yang ingin dinoda. Para pelabur sudah kecewa dan bukan mudah untuk memikat mereka semula walaupun Rafidah Aziz terbang ke sepelusuk dunia. Tebang dulu semua kroni manja, barulah pelabur akan kembali semula. - Editor]

From The Business Times, Singapore
13th February 2001

Malaysia's December trade surplus down 38%

No thanks to 7-month low in exports of chips, other electronics

MALAYSIA'S trade surplus narrowed 38 per cent in December as exports of semiconductors and other electronics products slipped to their lowest level in seven months.

The surplus fell to RM5.5 billion (S$2.5 billion) from RM8.9 billion a year earlier, the Department of Statistics said. Exports fell 11.4 per cent to RM30.2 billion, the first year-on-year drop since February 1999. Imports fell 1.8 per cent to RM24.7 billion.

Malaysia ships one-fifth of its goods to US buyers like Micrel Inc, Analog Devices Inc and Linear Technology Corp. As the US economy slows, demand for goods made in Malaysia and other Asian countries is faltering.

"There's no denying the impact of the (US) slowdown on the Malaysian economy," said Anita Chung, economist at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

"US economic growth has tapered off since the third quarter, causing weaker exports in Taiwan and South Korea too."

Korea's trade surplus shrank 84 per cent in January from a month earlier as shipments of computer chips, mobile phones and other goods fell to their lowest point in a year.

Taiwan's exports fell in January from a year earlier for the first time in two years.

Malaysia is trying to diversify its markets by shipping more goods to France and other European countries, Ms Chung said. The US, Japan and Singapore together buy more than half of Malaysia's exports.

The decline in December's exports was exaggerated by the unusually large increase in shipments a year earlier, when buyers rushed to place last-minute orders before the end of the year to avoid problems associated with the millennium computer bug, economists said.

Electronic and electrical goods account for 60 per cent of Malaysia's exports. Shipments of such goods fell 9.4 per cent in December from a year earlier to RM17.9 billion, the lowest level since May.

Highlighting the industry's woes, chipmaker Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd last week warned that falling US demand could hurt earnings in the next six months.

Even so, Malaysian companies imported 1.9 per cent more intermediate and capital goods used to make finished products, the statistics department said.

Flagging exports are expected to temper Malaysia's economic growth, which came to an estimated 7.5 per cent last year.

The Malaysian Institute for Economic Research, a leading think-tank, said recently that growth could fall to 5 per cent this year.

For all of 2000, the country's trade surplus narrowed 17 per cent to RM60.9 billion from RM73.1 billion a year earlier.

The surplus exceeded the government's prediction of RM57.9 billion.

Exports grew 16 per cent to RM373.3 billion, with electrical and electronic goods retaining their role as the single biggest earner with RM219.6 billion.

Imports jumped 25.7 per cent to RM312.4 billion.

Malaysia's trade surplus will likely narrow by another 9 per cent to RM55.5 billion in 2001, according to the finance ministry. --

Bloomberg

http://business-times.asia1.com.sg