Malaysia’s economy and the exchange traded fund (ETF) that tracks it is on a growth spurt and doesn’t look to be topping out anytime before 2008. As Southeast Asia’s third largest country, growth should accelerate 6% this year, the fastest pace in 3 years; and is predicted to expand 6% in 2008, report Stephanie Phang and Angus Whitley of Bloomberg. The economy has enough momentum to stave off interest rate cuts and the government has plans to spend around $58 billion on bridges, roads and other development projects. Next month, over a million civil servants will get their first pay raise in over 5 years. The ringgit has gained about 2.9% against the dollar this year.
iShares MSCI Malaysia (EWM) is already up 33% year-to-date. Top holdings include Bumiputra-Commerce HLDGS at 9.44%; Malayan Banking 8.29%; and IOI Corp. 6.69%. Financials lead the pack at 31.82%, followed by industrials with 18.17% and consumer discretionary at 13.77%.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.