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WEDNESDAY | JAN 28, 2026

Challenging year ahead after RM3.06 trillion trade in 2025 o Deputy minister says Malaysia must strengthen partnerships and diversify markets to ensure sustainable growth

Ű BY JOHN GILBERT sunbiz@thesundaily.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite challenges that threatened domestic exports and the US reciprocal tariffs, Malaysia’s trade reached its highest-ever level of RM3.06 trillion in 2025. Exports exceeded RM1 trillion for the fifth consecutive year, rising 6.5% to the highest ever recorded value of RM1.607 trillion, while imports grew by 6.2% to RM1.455 trillion. This outstanding performance resulted in a trade surplus of RM151.8 billion, marking the 28th consecutive year of surplus since 1998. Higher exports were largely contributed by electrical and electronic products, parti cularly higher demand for electronic inte grated circuits, reflecting the acceleration of global technology adoption, including artificial intelligence. The domestic manufacturing sector remained the main driver of export growth, supported by strong demand for palm oil based products and continued expansion in machinery, equipment and parts. Meanwhile, in the commodity sector, palm oil continues to be the nation’s key export. However, to ensure sustainable growth, Malaysia must diversify its trade part nerships, said Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Sim Tze Tzin ( pic ). “Broadening trade relations beyond traditional markets and forging stronger ties with emerging economies will reduce reliance on any single region, mitigating potential risks. “Diversification will also open new trade channels, enabling Malaysia to tap into rapidly expanding markets and enhancing its global competitiveness,” he told delegates when unveiling Malaysia’s 2025 trade performance yesterday. Sim said one of the key strategies to increase exports is close engagement with emerging markets. “These are non-tradi tional partners whose economies have grown exponentially in recent years, including regions such as Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.”

nology-driven global supply chains. This performance was achieved despite rising global uncertainties, in cluding geopolitical tensions, supply chain realignments and rising risks of pro tectionism. Exports to China, how ever, expanded at a more moderate pace. Furthermore, Malaysia’s broad network of free trade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Pro gressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

sustainable trade balance,” he said. Moving ahead, Sim said 2026 will be another year of challenges, whether geopoli tical or technological. “We should continuously

He noted that the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) and its agencies participated in several official overseas visits by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, including trips to Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and China. “These bilateral engagements are strate gically undertaken to further strengthen trade relations and expand market presence,” Sim said. While focusing on exports, he added, Malaysia must not disregard the role of imports, as they are integral to the growth and competitiveness of the domestic economy. “The importation of high-value and specialised products not produced locally is especially vital in supporting downstream industries and driving industrial advancement. “This includes advanced machinery, specialised equipment, high-end com ponents, and critical raw materials that are not produced locally or cannot be supplied at the required scale or quality. “These imports enable local industries to move up the value chain, improve pro ductivity, and produce higher-value goods for export. Malaysia can enhance competi tiveness while maintaining a robust and KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign investor interest is holding up for Malaysia’s high-end residential and commercial property assets despite the ringgit’s strengthening, as pricing and rental yields remain attractive, according to JLL Malaysia. JLL Malaysia managing director Jamie Tan said Kuala Lumpur remains among Southeast Asia’s most affordable property markets which sustain foreign demand even as currency conditions become less favourable. “We still have a lot of investors coming in, especially from Singapore and China. Malaysia is still one of the most affordable residential markets in Southeast Asia, if not the most affordable. Compared with cities such as Bangkok and Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur remains very affordable,” he said at JLL Malaysia’s Q1 2026 press conference yesterday. Tan said while a weaker ringgit typically attracts foreign buyers, the currency’s strength over the past year has had a more limited impact on sentiment compared with recent policy changes. “The ringgit being stronger over the past few months does affect some investors coming into the market, but what moved the needle Ű BY HAYATUN RAZAK sunbiz@thesundaily.com

strive to achieve whatever targets are set upon us, amid changes in the economic megatrends. “Malaysia’s competitive ness will be further streng thened through the digital economy, including cross-border e-commerce. “Technologies and digital platforms provide Malaysian businesses with access to new opportunities in e-commerce, digital services and cross-border data flows. “This digital transformation not only expands market reach but also improves operational efficiency and fosters innovation, positioning Malaysia as a forward-thinking hub in the region,” Sim said. According to the 2025 trade report, notable export growth underpinned by record-high shipments to traditional trading partners, namely Asean, the US, Taiwan and the European Union, reflecting Malaysia’s strong integration into high-value, tech more was the increase in stamp duties from 4% to 8%. That had a bigger impact on the market than currency movements,” he added. He said foreign investor interest remains resilient especially in growth corridors such as the Klang Valley and Johor. “That’s what is attracting a lot of investors into areas like the Klang Valley and Johor, where there is still room to grow, especially in Johor,” Tan said. “The perception is that there is still room to grow because Johor started from a very low base. Unlike Penang and Klang Valley, where growth started much earlier, Johor is still at an earlier stage of its growth cycle.” Tan said Malaysia continues to appeal to foreign investors due to competitive pricing and relatively attractive rental yields. “With that in mind, Malaysia remains very attractive to foreigners in terms of pricing and rental yield,” he added. On the outlook for 2026, Tan said the segments that outperformed in 2025 are expected to continue leading the market in the coming year. “The outperformers for 2025 will continue to outperform in 2026. We are talking about logistics, data centres, as well as residential properties in transit-oriented development

and the Regional Compre hensive Economic Part nership, continued to sup port market access, diversify exports, and reduce trade risks. Exports remained on an upward trend, reaching new highs in markets such as Hong Kong, Mexico and Canada, alongside broad based product growth. Export diversification into emerging markets – including Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Uzbekistan and Algeria – further underscored Malaysia’s success in expanding beyond traditional trading partners. Malaysia’s strong trade performance in 2025 highlights the importance of sus tained policy support and strategic export promotion led by the ministry and Malaysia External Trade Development Cor poration. locations,“ he said. He added that real estate performance remains highly location-driven, with outcomes shaped by the specific market, demographics, accessibility and connectivity of each area. “These are all the key factors that come into play when we think about how that particular segment will perform in the future,” Tan said. Globally, chief growth officer Christophe Vicic said, the real estate outlook for 2026 is shaped by broadly improving fundamentals, including positive economic growth, moderating inflation, and lower interest rates. “While challenges such as geopolitical tension and softer labour markets remain, six key forces are set to reshape the commercial real estate landscape,” he said. He added a significant decline in new supply is expected across most property types in 2026, which will intensify supply shortages for premium space in high-demand locations. “This will present an opportunity for property owners to retrofit and reposition existing assets to meet demand. Concurrently, a sharper focus on cost efficiency will become a top priority for Commercial Real Estate teams, as 72% of JLL experts anticipate higher input prices for energy, debt, labour and materials.”

JLL: Foreign interest in Malaysian high-end property holding up despite stronger ringgit

Tan delivering his presentation at JLL Malaysia’s press conference yesterday.