In a statement, it said the manufacturing sector’s recovery will be driven by the technology upcycle in H2 2024 and China’s gradual post-pandemic recovery.

“The bank also expects the gross domestic product (GDP) growth to expand further to 4.9% this year.

“We maintain our GDP growth projection for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023 at 3.7% compared to 3.4% advance estimates by the statistics department,” it stated.

Meanwhile, on a separate note, Public Investment Bank Bhd (PIVB) has anticipated improved growth prospects for the industrial sector in 2024.

The investment bank said in 2023, the manufacturing and mining sectors demonstrated modest expansions of 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively, while the electricity sector experienced a growth rate of 2.5%.

“The manufacturing sector declined to -1.4% year-on-year in December compared to -0.1% in November.

“Meanwhile, the electricity sector grew by 4.6% in December compared to 4.3% in November,” PIVB said.