Business confidence up says ACCA survey

KUALA LUMPUR: Business confidence in Malaysia picked up slightly in the first quarter of 2016, according to a survey by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).

In a statement today, the ACCA said the Global Economic Conditions survey showed that Malaysia’s economy has at least weathered the fall in oil prices, better than most big producers, growing by a relatively healthy 4.5% in the fourth quarter 2015.

“Moreover, the recovery in prices has helped to stabilise the ringgit, which is important given that Malaysia’s foreign currency-denominated external debt is unusually high,” it said.

The survey showed the number of Malaysian companies reporting negative effects from recent currency movements fell from 66% in fourth quarter 2015 to 48% in the first quarter this year,” it said.

Head of ACCA Malaysia, David Chin, said the emerging markets were especially under pressure with the collapse in revenues for commodities firms since mid-2014.

“Business confidence in China has fallen to its lowest level since our records began. This clearly has a knock-on effect for Malaysia but confidence is on the rise despite these global pressures and the nervousness in China.

“As a result, business confidence in the wider Asia-Pacific region continued to recover from the decline in late 2015 when businesses around the region were spooked by turmoil in China’s financial markets,” he said.

Like Indonesia, Chin said, Malaysia also suffered with commodity prices.

– BERNAMA

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