Corporate Malaysia Advised To Leverage Budget 2027 For Transformation

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- Corporate Malaysia should leverage the opportunities under Budget 2027 to step up investment, improve productivity and build more sustainable and competitive businesses, according to CGS International Securities Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CGS MY).

The fifth MADANI Budget comes against a harsh external backdrop, including conflict in West Asia, disruptions to energy and shipping, trade tensions and growing climate risks to food and supply chains.

CGS MY chief executive officer Khairi Shahrin Arief Baki said Budget 2027 provides businesses with more tools to invest in technology, skills, sustainability and productive capacity. “Government can set the conditions, clear the barriers and lay the foundations. Whether those foundations translate into stronger businesses, better jobs and higher incomes is ultimately up to companies,” he said in a statement.

Commenting on wages and workforce development, Khairi said a higher wage floor should not be viewed merely as a higher cost of doing business, as it signals that the low-wage, low-productivity model is no longer sustainable.

He said businesses should invest in skills, technology, automation and better-designed jobs to ensure higher wages are supported by higher productivity. “Productivity without better wages leaves households outside the gains of growth. Wages without productivity cannot hold. Malaysia needs both, rising together,” he added.

Khairi said the same principle applied to sustainability, with stronger green investment incentives and carbon pricing on the policy agenda, adding that companies that move early would have greater control over the pace and cost of the transition. He added that public investment in transport, water, digital connectivity, housing and industrial infrastructure would expand investment opportunities across Malaysia.

CGS MY country head Alan Inn said global volatility strengthened the case for companies to diversify their revenue bases. “Resilience is not just a strong balance sheet. A company that relies on one market, one supply chain or one source of advantage is only as strong as the conditions around it,” he added.

Inn said that access to domestic and international investors would help Malaysian businesses finance regional expansion, acquisitions and technology investments to compete on a larger stage.

-- BERNAMA