Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Malaysian businesses anticipate a softer second quarter 2026 (2Q 2026) outlook with the confidence indicator easing to negative 1.8% from 4% in the previous quarter, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the construction, wholesale and retail trade, and industry sectors are expecting less favourable business performance in the quarter reviewed, indicating that businesses remain cautious amid a challenging business environment and global uncertainties.
The services sector continues to maintain a positive outlook for Q2, benefiting from continued government support measures that preserve consumers’ purchasing power and facilitate business activities, particularly in domestic-driven service sectors, he said in conjunction with DoSM’s release of the Business Tendency Statistics for 2Q 2026.
Mohd Uzir said the construction sector turned pessimistic, with the confidence indicator registering negative 9.5% in Q2 against 1.4% in the previous quarter.
The confidence indicator for the wholesale and retail trade sector declined to negative 7.5% in the quarter reviewed while the industry sector projected a weaker performance, with a confidence indicator of negative 3.7% against a positive 3.3% in 1Q 2026.
The services sector expects business performance to remain optimistic, with a confidence indicator of 6.2% against 6.6% in the previous quarter, he said.
About 33% of businesses expect Q2 gross revenue to rise, 43% unchanged and 24% expect a decline. Meanwhile, 14.7% of businesses project employment to rise, 75.8% expect to maintain their workforce and 9.5% expect a fall./.
Malaysia promotes open global trade
Malaysia reaffirmed its support for an open, transparent, predictable, and rules-based multilateral trading system anchored in the World Trade Organisation, while warning against the rise of protectionism and economic fragmentation, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) said in a statement on May 25.
