Chief Statistician Uzir Mahidin said in a statement today that services, industry and construction are the three sectors that anticipate better business conditions in Q4 2023.
“The business confidence for the services sector remains on a positive trajectory, with the confidence indicator increasing to 6.3% against 6.1% in the last quarter.
“Meanwhile, the industry sector continues to be optimistic about business performance with a confidence indicator of 4% for the corresponding quarter compared to 1.3% in the Q3 2023,” he said.
He said sentiments within the construction sector reverted to a positive trajectory for the first time since the first quarter of 2018 by posting 1.7% against 26.9% in Q3 2023.
However, Uzir said businesses within the wholesale and retail trade sector expect a pessimistic business outlook, with the confidence indicator of negative 3.6% in Q4 2023 as opposed to a 1.5% decline in the last quarter.
“Looking ahead, the business outlook for the period of October 2023 until March 2024 remains upbeat despite moderating, with a net balance of 9.8% against 13.9% recorded previously, with all sectors registering positively except the wholesale and retail trade.
“Sentiments in the services sector remain positive with a net balance of 19%.
For the next six months, all sub-sectors under the services sector anticipate a positive business environment.
The industry sector also foresees a brighter business outlook with a net balance of 7.5% for the period of October 2023 until March 2024,” he said.
After soaring to a positive trajectory for the second half of 2023, he said the construction sector keeps improving significantly, with a net balance of 27.6% for the upcoming six months.
He said wholesale and retail trade expects a challenging business outlook for the following six months with a net balance of negative 4.6%.
“This scenario is due to the pessimist sentiment from the wholesale trade sub-sector.
“Nevertheless, the retail trade subsector rebounded to a positive trajectory by recording 3% for the expected six months ahead compared to a decline of 12.4% recorded previously,” he added.