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KUALA LUMPUR – The reduction in personal income tax by 2.0 percentage points for salaries between RM50,001 and RM100,000, and RM100 e-wallet credit for the M40 group as announced in Budget 2023 is expected to benefit this group as well as boost the overall consumer sector as disposable income will increase.
The higher allocation for development expenditure in Budget 2023 should benefit the construction and building material segments, while other beneficiaries include the electric vehicle, solar, telecommunications, tourism, logistics, and healthcare sectors, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said in a note.
“There were no major surprises in Budget 2023 as the government is providing the usual cash aids to support the B40 and M40 groups and higher allocation across different ministries.
“The higher allocation for development expenditure could boost the domestic economy following the tough Covid-19 environment.
“Also, several incentives for various sectors could support the development of local companies and attract multinational companies to invest in our country,” it said.
The stockbroking firm also said it believes the market may not be too excited about Budget 2023 as there are fewer positive catalysts to boost trading activities, while investors could adopt a defensive stance amid talks of Parliament dissolution and the 15th general election.
“Hence, we expect the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI to stay neutral and susceptible to the external downside risks such as the US Federal Reserve’s hawkish tone, high interest rate environment, and elevated inflationary pressure,” it said.
On the flip side, Malacca Securities said the introduction of multi-tiered levies for foreign workers is likely to be a short-term pain, long-term gain plan to encourage more automation initiatives; this could be mildly negative towards foreign worker intensive sectors like electronic manufacturing services, construction and plantation, at least for a start. – Bernama, October 10, 2022
