MARKET SUMMARY MALAYSIA. Data snapshot. Business and economic growth

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1 1 THE CPA AUSTRALIA ASIA-PACIFIC SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY - MARKET SUMMARY: MALAYSIA MARKET SUMMARY MALAYSIA Data snapshot Business and economic growth Small es that expect to grow in next 12 months (Malaysia against ) Small es that reported growing in the previous 12 months (Malaysia against ) 90% 90% 70% 70% 50% 50% 30% % Survey Malaysia Survey Malaysia Businesses that grew in last 12 months Businesses that expect to grow in next 12 months Businesses that expect the local economy to grow in next 12 months 64.1% 68.5% 5/8 68.7% 4/8 69.0% 4/8 57.6% 4/8 67.3% 70.8% 4/8 71.7% 4/8 69.7% 4/8 59.2% 4/8 53.7% 61.9% 6/8 52.8% 5/8 46.8% 7/8 67.5% 4/8

2 2 THE CPA AUSTRALIA ASIA-PACIFIC SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY - MARKET SUMMARY: MALAYSIA Business activity over the past 12 months Increased employee numbers 27.5% 34.3% 5/8 33.6% 4/8 31.6% 5/8 40.5% 3/8 Improved management had a major positive impact on their Increasing costs had a major negative impact on their Required funds from an external source Sought external funds for growth Found it easy or very easy to access external finance A bank was the s main source of external finance 29.4% 23.4% 2/8 27.0% 3/8 31.3% 4/8 N/A N/A 52.1% 35.8% 1/8 45.9% 1/8 48.7% 2/8 N/A N/A 54.7% 61.3% 5/8 62.2% 5/8 57.7% 5/8 73.6% 4/8 62.1% 59.4% 3/8 51.3% 6/8 51.4% 5/8 64.2% 3/8 13.0% 32.5% 8/8 15.7% 8/8 31.8% 7/8 32.3% 6/8 33.7% 41.0% 7/8 40.8% 6/8 45.3% 5/8 N/A N/A Planned activity over the next 12 months Expect to increase employee numbers Expect to introduce a new product, service or process unique to their market or the world 40.1% 40.8% 4/8 40.4% 4/8 46.8% 4/8 52.4% 4/8 32.0% 23.3% 3/8 26.4% 4/8 29.0% 3/8 N/A N/A Expect revenue from overseas markets to grow strongly 15.9% 19.8% 4/8 18.2% 3/8 18.7% 4/8 N/A N/A Will seek external funds 31.1% 28.8% 4/8 29.3% 4/8 29.7% 5/8 32.5% 3/8 Expect easy to very easy access to finance 10.2% 28.4% 8/8 13.6% 8/8 27.6% 8/8 29.3% 6/8

3 3 THE CPA AUSTRALIA ASIA-PACIFIC SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY - MARKET SUMMARY: MALAYSIA Social media, e-commerce and technology Did NOT earn any revenue from online sales Did NOT use social media for purposes Investment in technology by the over the past 12 months has improved profitability Consider the likely to be cyberattacked in next 12 months Allow payments through digital payment options, such as PayPal, Alipay, WeChat Pay Allow payments through digital currencies, such as bitcoin 19.1% 24.8% 4/8 22.8% 4/8 24.5% 4/8 13.2% 5/8 14.9% 18.5% 4/8 15.3% 4/8 10.0% 4/8 5.8% 5/8 50.8% 53.1% 4/8 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 52.4% 45.6% 3/8 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 29.1% 42.7% 6/8* N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 7.1% 11.4% 5/8 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A *equal sixth with New Zealand Factors that had positive and negative influences on in Top four factors that had a positive influence on small in Customer loyalty Good staff Cost control Top four factors that had a negative impact on small in Increasing costs Increasing competition Poor overall economic environment Improved customer satisfaction Cash flow difficulties Fluctuations in the value of the local currency Tax Other Satisfied with being a small owner or working for a small Do NOT have an exit plan/succession plan for the 68.9% 76.1% 7/8 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 30.7% 36.2% 7/8 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

4 4 THE CPA AUSTRALIA ASIA-PACIFIC SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY - MARKET SUMMARY: MALAYSIA Demographics Business has been established for 10 years or less Respondent is aged under 40 Respondent is the owner Business has 10 to 19 employees 70.2% 63.3% 3/8 73.3% 3/8 73.9% 3/8 75.9% 3/8 57.6% 48.0% 3/8 76.9% 1/8 74.2% 3/8 77.5% 1/8 41.7% 30.4% 3/8 33.2% 3/8 46.8% 3/8 31.2% 5/8 32.0% 45.7% 6/8 47.2% 6/8 31.9% 6/8 43.7% 5/8 Summary Small conditions were positive in Malaysia in, with nearly two thirds of respondents stating their grew. This positive outlook appears set to continue in 2018, with slightly more es expecting to grow. While was a positive year for Malaysia s small sector (with 64.1 per cent of es reporting that they grew) this result was down from (68.7 per cent). Despite this, small es in Malaysia remain more likely to have experienced growth in than es from Singapore (47.5 per cent) but much less likely than small es from Indonesia (93.4 per cent). Malaysia s positive result is likely to continue in 2018, with over two-thirds (67.3 per cent) expecting to grow ahead of Australia (55.6 per cent) and Singapore (57.0 per cent). However, Malaysia is again significantly behind Indonesia s small sector, where 94.8 per cent of expect to grow, including 53.0 per cent that expect to grow strongly. Malaysia s small es may be overly conservative in their view of the local economy. While 53.7 per cent of small es expect Malaysia s economy to grow in 2018, recent economic data paints a much more positive outlook, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting the economy will expand between 5.0 and 5.5 per cent in Of course, while the results are positive for Malaysia, es also report challenges, with increasing costs, especially the cost for materials, seen as the largest barrier to growth. Difficulty in accessing finance was also a challenge many Malaysian small es reported experiencing in. We do, however, expect that Malaysia s small es will overcome these challenges. Throughout the life of this, Malaysia s small es have shown they typically have a focus on factors that assist with longterm growth, including innovation, e-commerce and technology. They also show they have a strong focus on factors that help to drive growth, especially: customer loyalty good staff cost control improved management.

5 5 THE CPA AUSTRALIA ASIA-PACIFIC SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY - MARKET SUMMARY: MALAYSIA More than a quarter (27.5 per cent) of Malaysia s small es stated that they added staff in, reflecting strong growth for the sector. Malaysian small es are likely to be even stronger creators of jobs in 2018, with a healthy 40.1 per cent expecting to add additional staff members. Small es from Malaysia continue to be relatively strong users of digital technologies in their, particularly in comparison to their competitors from Australia, Singapore and New Zealand. Over half of Malaysian es ed (53.4 per cent) earned over ten per cent of their income from online sales, and over 80 per cent use social media for purposes. Malaysia s small es would however benefit from a stronger focus on new digital payment options, such as AliPay, SamsungPay and Vcash. Only 29.1 per cent allow customers to pay through this technology, well below Mainland China (65.5 per cent) and the (42.7 per cent). With more than half of Malaysia s small es (50.8 per cent) stating that their investment in technology in the past 12 months has already been profitable, we expect that they will move quickly to invest in new digital payment technology. This relatively strong focus on technology is flowing through to concerns over the security of systems, with more than half (52.4 per cent) of respondents from Malaysia stating that they believe it is likely their will be cyberattacked in 2018 the third highest result of the markets ed. This concern is leading to action, with Malaysia s small es highly likely to be taking steps to improve their cybersecurity. The most common steps are: using a spam filter on their systems making staff aware not to download programs or open attachments from untrusted sources run frequent anti-virus, anti-spyware and malware scans. Given concerns over cybersecurity, and the high reliance many of Malaysia s small es place on their systems, es should consider a stronger focus on cybersecurity, especially multi-factor authentication before users are allowed onto their system, a stronger password policy (including changing passwords regularly) and immediately removing access for people who no longer work for the or need access. Small es from Malaysia continue to have a relatively strong focus on innovation through expected investments in new products, processes or services, particularly in comparison to Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore. This innovative culture will support long-term growth and help to improve the competitiveness of Malaysia s es. The Malaysian Government s strong focus on promoting innovation is no doubt important in fostering this innovative culture. The reduced number of Malaysian small es that reported growing in, and their continued difficulty accessing finance, has had an impact on the number of es requiring external finance in (54.7 per cent, down from 62.2 per cent in ). The lower results in, plus concerns over increasing costs and difficulty accessing finance, may be having an impact on satisfaction. Sixty-nine per cent of Malaysian respondents stated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with working for or owning a small the second lowest result of the markets ed. With high numbers of Malaysian small es having the characteristics associated with growth, such as a focus on innovation, e-commerce and technology, we are likely to see better results in An increasing number of Malaysia s small es are likely to evolve to become large, successful global es in the next few years.