RM400bil five-year spending plan

       THE government has allocated a record RM400bil for development expenditure (DE) over five years under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), up 60% from RM248bil under 11MP.Aside from allocations for new and ongoing projects such as the East Coast Rail Link, Pan Borneo Highway and the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System, an extra component was added.

       This includes the rehabilitation of government agencies such as the Federal Land Development Authority or Felda and Lembaga Tabung Haji.

       At least half of the basic DE will be allocated to less-developed states, with the focus on new schools, hospitals, roads and industrial areas, as well as poverty eradication programmes and affordable housing.

       One of the key goals of the 12MP is to lift the average monthly household income from the current RM7,160 to RM10,065 by 2025.

       Early winners from the 12MP, announced on Monday, include Widad Group Bhd, which on Wednesday scored a RM244mil contract to build a 80-km highway in Kelantan, the last section in the Central Road Spine project.

       Roaring trade

       MALAYSIA’S total trade continued to maintain its upward trend in August, growing 15.7% from a year ago, despite lower exports and imports compared with July.The better-than-expected figures were driven by a rebound in electrical and electronic (E&E) exports after a weak July performance.

       Analysts expect foreign demand for E&E products, rubber products and commodities, especially crude palm oil and liquefied natural gas, to continue driving exports in the coming months.

       port butterworth

       Meanwhile, the easing of Covid-19 restrictions is likely to boost production activity in the coming months.

       However, the recent resurgence of Covid-19 cases, signs of a slowdown in China and continued supply chain bottlenecks could hurt trade and production outlook.

       MRCB takes full control of LRT3 JV

       MALAYSIAN Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) on Tuesday said George Kent (M) Bhd had accepted its RM53mil offer to buy out the latter’s share in joint venture (JV) MRCB-George Kent Sdn Bhd (MRCB-GK).MRCB-GK is the main contractor appointed by Prasarana Malaysia Bhd for the light rail transit line 3 (LRT3) project from Bandar Utama to Johan Setia.

       The 37-km line was reported to be more than 50% completed, with the targeted completion in 2024.？

       Reports have suggested that the JV is profitable, recording around RM16.3mil in profit after tax in 2020.

       MIDF Research calculated that the profit margin for the project was around 1%.

       It added that MRCB could bump this higher if it is able to lower the project’s financing cost.