NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 26: The JPMorgan Chase brand is seen at their headquarters constructing on Might 26, 2023 in New York Metropolis.
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Information facilities have been broadly talked about and Malaysia is rising as a horny funding alternative providing totally different sectors and concepts to play, in accordance with JPMorgan.
“It is a multi-theme story occurring,” Rajiv Batra, head of Asia-Pacific (ex-Japan/China) fairness technique at JPMorgan, instructed CNBC’s “Squawk Field Asia” Wednesday.
“Information heart is the one which everyone seems to be speaking about. Penang has confirmed themselves as a tech hub general,” mentioned Batra, including that Malaysia presents “a number of sectors and concepts to play.”
“Apart from that, we’re seeing they’re going into the electrical autos, they’re going into the inexperienced power general. And now they’re even speaking concerning the solars too,” he added.
The funding financial institution mentioned Malaysia is progressing at a a lot stronger tempo than anticipated and upgraded the nation to “impartial” score from “underweight” final week, elevating its goal for the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index.
“Coverage reforms, information heart funding and infrastructure build-out have turn out to be key tailwinds for Malaysia, in-line with our 2024 outlook, however are progressing at a a lot stronger-than-anticipated tempo,” JPMorgan analysts mentioned in a July 1 observe.
The analysts named Malaysia’s fairness market as “a shiny spot” in Southeast Asia with roughly 9% return year-to-date — the best amongst international locations within the area.
Nevertheless, they highlighted there could possibly be challenges like “subsidy rationalization, exterior volatilities, and potential affect of upcoming U.S. elections” that might damage shopper spending.
Malaysia has emerged as an information heart powerhouse, with Johor Bahru named because the quickest rising information heart market inside Southeast Asia in DC Byte’s 2024 World Information Centre Index.
Additionally it is a hotspot for semiconductor chip companies seeking to diversify operations amid U.S.-China tensions. Malaysia’s experience within the meeting, testing and packaging of chips has made it a horny place for companies like Intel and GlobalFoundries.
Zafrul Aziz, the nation’s minister for worldwide commerce and trade, mentioned in January that the federal government is inviting many EV makers to Malaysia because it desires to “reap the benefits of its place within the semiconductor provide chain.”
Tech giants like Google and Microsoft have pledged to take a position billions of {dollars} in Malaysia to advance cloud and AI infrastructure within the nation.
