30/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | DEC 30, 2025

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Producer Price Index declines 1.8% in November

Local institutions extend net buying on Bursa into sixth week KUALA LUMPUR: Local institutions extended their buying streak for the sixth consecutive week, with net inflows of RM639.5 million, while local retailers recorded a fourth consecutive week of net outflows of RM90.2 million. MBSB Investment Bank Bhd’s (MBSB IB) Fund Flow Report for the week ended Dec 26, 2025, said foreign investors on Bursa Malaysia recorded net outflows for the third consecutive week, with net selling totalling RM549.3 million. The highest outflow occurred on Friday (RM172.4 million), followed by Wednesday (RM172.4 million), Mon day (RM106 million) and Tuesday (RM98.6 million, while the local bourse was closed for Christmas holiday on Thursday. “The only three sectors that recorded net foreign inflows last week were industrial products and services (RM23.4 million), telecom munication and media (RM13.3 million), and energy (RM3.4 million). “The top three sectors that recorded net foreign outflows were financial services (RM169.7 million), consumer product and services (RM96.2 million), and utilities (RM90.6 million),” the report said. MBSB noted that the average daily trading volume saw a broad-based decrease: local retailers by 12.2%, local institutions by 26.6%, and foreign investors by 39.7%. Regionally, based on eight Asian markets tracked by MBSB, foreign investors reversed their course to turn to net buying of Asian equities with net inflows of US$4.24 billion, recording the largest inflows since early September. The report said only India and the Philippines saw outflows, while inflows were led by South Korea, followed by Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand. – Bernama PNBMV names new CEO to steer Merdeka 118 KUALA LUMPUR: PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd (PNBMV) has announced that Datuk Izwan Hasli Mohd Ibrahim will become its new CEO effective Thursday. He takes the helm at a defining moment for the Merdeka 118 Precinct, guiding its development into a globally recognised inte grated hub for commerce, culture, heritage and community in Kuala Lumpur. With more than 25 years of leadership experience across pro minent Malaysian companies, Izwan brings a track record that spans real estate development, asset management, oil and gas, and technology. At PNBMV, Izwan’s priorities include driving operational ex cellence, unlocking asset value, and ensuring that Merdeka 118 fulfils its promise as a fully integrated and vibrant precinct.

decrease of 16.2% in the growing of perennial crops index.” At the same time, the mining sector contracted by 7.2%, com pared to a decline of 1% in October. This downturn was attributed to negative changes in both the extraction of natural gas and extraction of crude petroleum indices, which fell by 11.4% and 5.5%, respectively. The manufacturing sector registered a moderate decline of

0.6%, maintaining the same rate of contraction in the previous month, due to a decline of 6.6% in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products index. In contrast, the electricity and gas supply sector increased by 4.1%, while the water supply sector went up by 10.1%. On a month-on-month basis, the PPI Local Production contracted by 0.3%, after recording no change in October 2025. The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector decreased by 4.6% (October: 0.9%) due to a decline in the growing of perennial crops (-7.6%). Similarly, the mining sector went down by 0.8% (October: -4.8%), owing to extraction of natural gas (-1.2%) and extraction of crude petroleum (-0.8%) indices. Within the utilities sector, water supply and electricity and gas supply sectors declined by 0.8% and 0.2%, respectively. Conversely, the manufacturing sector recorded a modest increase of 0.3%, maintaining the same rate as in the previous month. The was supported by manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products (1.3%) and manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (0.4%) indices. Elaborating on the PPI Local Production by stage of processing, Mohd Uzir said, “All stages of processing posted negative year-on year changes in November 2025. The crude materials for further processing index declined by 6.2% (October: 1.2%), affected by non food materials (-8.4%). Meanwhile, the Intermediate materials, supplies and components index decreased by 1.1% (October: -0.2%), due to processed fuel and lubricants (- 7.5%).” At the same time, the finished goods index went down by 0.2% (October: -1.0%), weighed down by capital equipment (-0.1).

o Agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining, and manufacturing sectors register contractions

PETALING Malaysia’s Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures price changes at the producer level, went down by 1.8% in November 2005 compared with a 0.1% decrease in October, the Department of Statistics Malaysia JAYA:

reported yesterday. Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said, “The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector declined by 9.7%, after a 2.7% increase in the previous month, affected by a double-digit

On a month-on-month basis, the crude materials for further pro cessing index decreased by 2.7%. In contrast, intermediate materials, supplies and components and finished goods indices recorded increases of 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. ‘Broader trade pacts, fiscal reforms key to ringgit stability’

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia needs to remain open to a broader range of international trade agreements beyond its traditional markets, parti cularly the United States and China, to support the stability and further strengthening of the ringgit. Center for Market Education CEO Dr Carmelo Ferlito said the government should continue to push for inter national free trade agreements as freer trade ultimately benefits the public. “This is an important factor where Malaysia needs to be even more aggressive, understanding that free trade is beneficial first and foremost

“So try to recalibrate that and build a bigger space for the private sector.” On the performance of the ringgit, Ferlito said the Malaysian currency’s performance in 2024 and 2025 has been marked by trading volatility, largely driven by external factors and speculative pressures. He noted that for investors and market observers, stability matters more than the currency’s value as a stable ringgit provides greater certainty for investment planning and economic decision-making. – Bernama

individuals viewed positively by the investment community. At the same time, Ferlito said the need for structural reforms to reduce excessive government intervention in the economy includes recali brating the role of government linked companies. Addressing structural issues such as the fragmentation of small and medium enterprises through reforms that encourage consolidation could help create stronger private sector players, allowing the private sector to play a larger role in driving economic growth, he added.

for the population,”he said on Bernama World yesterday. Ferlito agreed that the govern ment was generally on the right track, but believed that more can be done, particularly in rationalising public spending. While some measures had already been taken on the revenue side, he noted that fiscal discipline would be the key where the government builds its future credibility. He also said that the recent government reshuffle has played a role in building confidence, with some key positions being filled by