KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — MIDF Research foresees the full year industrial production index (IPI) growth to fall by 3.7 per cent in 2020, mainly due to the weaker output earlier this year.

Earlier today, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said the IPI in September 2020 increased 1.0 per cent year-on-year (yoy), driven by the positive growth of 4.3 per cent in the manufacturing index.

In a note today, MIDF Research said there has been continued improvement on the back of recovering consumer spending and growing exports.

"Going forward, we expect industrial production to improve further as Malaysia’s economy is expected to continue recovering going into next year and the global economy is projected to rebound next year.

"However, the lower PMI in Oct-20 indicates signs of slowdown in Malaysia’s manufacturing sector, as the government introduced targeted restrictions for certain areas to contain the new wave of Covid-19 outbreak,” it said.

The research house said it view the resurgence of Covid-19 locally and abroad as a downside risk to the outlook for global production and trade-oriented industries. — Bernama