Malaysia building sector to contract temporarily in 2019

However, the sector will grow in the long term as more projects achieve completion.

Malaysia's building sector is expected to see a short-term contraction in 2019 but is tipped to stage a recovery by 2020 as several infrastructure projects come online, Fitch Solutions reported.

The total value of work done in the residential and non-residential sectors shrank by 1.1% and 9.3% YoY respectively in Q1 2019.

In Q1 2019, housing prices posted its slowest pace of growth since 2014 at 1.3% YoY, and the housing price index retreated for the first time in 20 quarters to 194.6 from 195.4.

Sales value of residential and non-residential buildings sector is expected to contract 0.9% and 0.8% respectively in 2019, but will grow 2.6% and 2.1% in 2020.

Also read: Can Malaysia revive its weakening construction sector?

In the short term, the construction of affordable housing projects is expected to slightly compensate for the contraction, with the National Housing Policy aiming to construct 100,000 low-priced homes by the end of 2019 and one million houses in ten years.

In the long term, Fitch expects that the completion of massive infrastructure projects like West Coast Expressway and Pan Borneo Highway will help push the sector into recovery.

Projects like the East Coast Rail Link is also expected to be completed by 2026, the Klang Valley Integrated Transit System (KVITS) is tipped to take shape over the next decade, and the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya Line is expected to begin operation by 2021.

The people you want to reach are already in this room.

Every quarter, SBR lands on the desks of the founders, CFOs, and directors running Asia's most consequential companies. Every day, they open our newsletter and read our website. It's a room that took twenty years to build — and it's the one most of our partners are trying to get into.

The good news is that the door is open. We work with companies on thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. The shape of the right partnership depends on what you're trying to do, which is why we'd rather start with a conversation than send a rate card.

If you have something this room should know about, tell us. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.

No rate cards until we understand the brief. It's a better use of everyone's time.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia