MBSB: VMY 2026 And AI To Boost Malaysia’s Economy, Markets

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 (Bernama) -- MBSB Investment Bank Bhd expects Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VMY 2026) to be a key driver of Malaysia’s economy and equities market next year, with related sectors poised to benefit.

The bank identified transportation (airlines, airports, mass transit operators), hospitality (hotels, resorts, REITs), healthcare (medical tourism providers) and consumer sectors (food and beverage, retail, convenience stores) as likely beneficiaries.

"VMY 2026, themed ‘Surreal Experiences’, aims to attract 47 million visitors and generate RM329 billion in tourism receipts. Malaysia is well-positioned to capture rising demand, making VMY 2026 a catalyst for sustainable economic growth," MBSB said in a note today.

MBSB also expects investments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to continue growing through 2026, with data centres (DCs) likely to benefit indirectly, as AI deployment has yet to reach its inflection point.

"The influx of DCs into Malaysia has been a boon for the construction sector, and we continue to expect it to remain a key growth engine for the sector in 2026, as demand remains resilient," it said in a note today.

MBSB said channel checks with contractors indicated active tendering for DC projects, with a healthy pipeline of work.

This demand is expected to spill over into utilities and renewable energy (RE), where fundamentals remain robust, supported by commercial-sector demand and the accelerating ramp-up of DC loads, providing long-term visibility for generation, transmission and distribution investments.

"We expect 2026 to be a busy year for renewable energy, particularly for solar engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) players, with two large ongoing projects — the fifth Large Scale Solar (LSS5, 2GW) and LSS5+ (2GW)," it said.

MBSB projected these projects could generate up to RM5.9 billion in EPCC opportunities, with contract awards potentially expected in the first quarter of 2026.

Externally, MBSB forecasts the US Federal Reserve will continue its monetary easing cycle in 2026.

"Historically, periods of monetary easing have supported equity market performance," it said, adding that greater clarity on US trade policies should further stabilise investment assessments.

Overall, the bank remains sanguine on the outlook for 2026 and expects the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI to reach a baseline target of 1,750.

-- BERNAMA