KUALA LUMPUR – The ASEAN region will remain a supporting and appealing investment destination for the long term with its young populace promising a thriving economy.
Lim Suet Ling, UOB Asset Management Malaysia’s chief executive officer, stated that the ASEAN region’s young population will promise a vibrant economy bolstered by main economic sectors which include commodities, plantations and oil and gas.
During a panel session at the Invest ASEAN 2022 recently, she stated that ASEAN, being the fourth largest economy with a total population of more than 600 million, has become more educated with a competitive edge in being one of the largest manufacturers in the worldwide supply chain.
She believes that Malaysia is benefiting from diversification of the supply chain that was a result of COVID-19 lockdowns in China, particularly on the electrical and electronics (E&E) side.
“In regards to foreign direct investments (FDIs), Malaysia is considerably cheaper than China. So, we believe that FDIs will keep coming in for diversification,” she added.
Despite that, Lim hopes to see more Internet unicorns being developed and listed to further enhance Malaysia’s position to be an attractive investment destination.
She emphasises that trade agreements between ASEAN countries would be bolstered by establishing deeper collaborations to improve investment prospects.
On the subject of investing, she advises investors to be defensive and careful with their holdings at present time in light of a slowing down on interest rate increase expectations by the US Federal Reserve.
Additionally, Lim mentioned that investors could divert their investments towards utilities or assets with recurring income.
“Other sectors expected to grow include tourism and medical related stocks. However, we are not only looking at bigger caps but also smaller and undervalued ones which we believe have prospects which are yet to be found,” she added.
Join our Telegram group for the latest updates!
Read more: Investment opportunities growing in Asia’s emission reduction segment
Discussion about this post