A Budget with Dubious Benefits
6 min read
The Prime Minister announced the 2017 Budget on October 17, 2016 in parliament. The Budget Speech can be seen as a strategic plan for the upcoming year and alwa...
Penang’s Manufacturing Sector Grows, Despite Some Headwinds
8 min read
Penang’s manufacturing sector has been the backbone of job creation and income generation in Malaysia since the 1970s. Its activities have evolved...
Low Unemployment in Penang for Now
6 min read
Penang’s labour market is expected to remain buoyant in the second half of 2017. The labour force participation rate moderated to 69% in 2016, up from 69....
Malaysia’s Demographic Shift Poses Big Challenge
7 min read
People are having fewer babies today. There has been a steady decline in fertility rates worldwide since 1950. Live births have shrunk by half, from five babies...
Penang’s Villages in Numbers
3 min read
VILLAGES IN Malaysia are classified into eight groups: Arranged villages, planned villages, new villages, traditional villages, fishing villages, floating villa...
Industrialisation in Numbers
3 min read
As the second smallest state in Malaysia, Penang contributed the second-largest manufacturing output to Malaysia’s GDP. This accounts for about 13.9% of the cou...
After 50 Years: No Slowing Down in Penang’s Industrialisation
11 min read
THE PLAN TO establish Penang as a manufacturing hub was initiated in the early ’60s under the first Chief Minister of Penang, Wong Pow Nee, following the recomm...
Penang Poised to Grow Despite General Uncertainties
6 min read
PENANG’S ECONOMIC RECOVERY is estimated to remain cautiously buoyant, with the reopening of economic activities, continued external demand especially for semico...
How are House Prices in Penang Performing during the Pandemic?
5 min read
MALAYSIA’S PROPERTY MARKET is expected to continue to be sluggish throughout 2021. As Covid-19 cases continue to hit record-breaking highs, many potential homeb...
Penang’s economy in 2015: Growth continues, but more slowly
11 min read
Penang’s GDP has been growing over the last five years. Following the recent release of data on Malaysia’s GDP growth for 2014 by Bank Negara Mala...
Penang’s Demography in Numbers
2 min read
In general, the size of Penang’s population is expected to expand substantially for elderly persons. This is evidently shown in Figure 1 where the pop...
Penang’s Finances Staying Strong
6 min read
Since 2008 Penang has experienced fiscal surpluses in its financial account; it achieved as large a sum as RM61.7mil in fiscal surpluses, or 0.1% of Penang&rsqu...