PETALING JAYA: The manufacturing sector is poised for further strengthening of its recovery momentum in the first half of 2022, says the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).

       Heading into 2022, growing external demand is expected to bolster recovery in the manufacturing sector amid continuing domestic and external headwinds, it said.

       “All forward-looking indicators are back in the black with readings above the threshold level of optimism, portending that the near-term prognosis for the manufacturing sector is positive.

       “The expected business activity index soared to 122 from 60 previously, implying that business activity is expected to gain further momentum in the next six months,” FMM president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said in a statement yesterday in conjunction with the release of the 20th edition of the FMM-Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) Business Conditions Survey.

       The bi-annual collaboration between FMM and MIER revealed that 39% of the respondents believed that business activity will pick up soon, while 17% were pessimistic in this aspect, which is in sharp contrast to 55% who replied similarly in the previous survey.

       The survey revealed that the manufacturing sector ended 2021 on a positive note as economic activities resumed with the easing of containment measures and recovery of demand for manufactured goods. — Bernama