PETALING JAYA: Knight Frank Malaysia is optimistic about the logistics and healthcare sectors but remains cautious on the traditional retail and office segments as well as the hotel and leisure industry.

       In its Malaysia commercial real estate investment sentiment survey (CREISS) 2021, managing director Sarkunan Subramaniam hoped that the vaccination programme would continue to be ramped up as the country’s economic recovery hinges on its success to reduce the number of daily new cases.

       “The hospitality industry continues to bleed due to international travel bans, restrictions on interstate travel, and the cancellation of major events.

       “Similarly, the retail industry has also been badly-impacted due to the various phases of lockdowns and subdued consumer sentiment, ” he said in a statement yesterday.

       “As more businesses close down and hotels cease operations, the country’s unemployment rate is expected to rise, ” he added.

       Knight Frank deputy managing director Keith Ooi said the logistics sector was the clear winner as the preferred sector to continue to do well in the second half of the year.“The logistics industry in Malaysia has been growing steadily in recent years due to a higher e-commerce penetration rate.

       warehouse" src="https://apicms.thestar.com.my/uploads/images/2021/07/08/1212767.jpg" onerror="this.src='https://cdn.thestar.com.my/Themes/img/tsol-default-image2017.png'" style="width: 620px; height: 411px;">Tiong Nam logistics warehouse

       “This, coupled with the structural shift towards omnichannel retailing, has led to an increase in demand for modern warehousing space to meet the surge in last-mile delivery, ” he said.