Malaysian Construction Sector Sees Near-Term Softness — Market Talk

Malaysian property developers are likely to defer new launches amid ongoing macro headwinds, while builders could adopt a more defensive bidding stance, factoring in higher tender risk premiums to hedge against volatile input costs, Hong Leong IB analyst Brian Chin says in a note. This "wait-and-see" approach is expected to soften residential job flows in the coming quarter, he says. However, the full-year job flows are expected to remain resilient, supported by a second wave of data center rollouts, large water projects and the coming Penang light rail transit packages, he reckons. Hong Leong maintains an overweight rating on Malaysian construction sector due to an expected rebound in 2H, and pegs Gamuda and Kimlun Corp. as top picks. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)