KUALA LUMPUR: But optimism towards construction and mining sectors contract. The show goes on in Malaysia after its Business Optimism Index (BOI) for Q3 rose to +3.07 from +3.40 last quarter, according to Dun & Bradstreet’s (D&B) study. The BOI used six indicators including volume of sales, net profits, selling price, inventory level, employees and new orders. Three out of six indicators showed decline on a QoQ basis. Net profits points fell from -3.48 to -3.88, selling price tumbled from +10.95 to +2.91, whilst inventory levels dropped from +4.98 to +4.85. Meanwhile, scores for volume of sales, new orders, and employment levels all rose at +2.99, +3.48, and +3.88 respectively. The services, transportation, and agriculture sectors showed the most optimism. Meanwhile, construction and mining sectors showed dismal outlook for the next quarter.
Employment levels in the services sector jumped from +1.3 to +5.13 points, whilst net profits, even if they were contractionary, climbed from -5.2 to -1.28 points. Whilst five indicators dipped for the transportation sector, these were offset by the rise of points for new orders, from +5.0 to +9.52. Meanwhile, the agriculture sector’s employment levels crashed from +80.0 to 0 points but its four other indicators went up.
