While Hong Kong and Singapore have lost around 15% this year, Malaysia has proved relatively defensive; the Kuala Lumpur index is down by around 2%. Lower exports to the US are set to knock 0.7% off growth in 2008, as Finanz und Wirtschaft notes.
But the market has been buoyed by the boom in palm oil, revenues from which almost doubled to 15% of GDP last year. This hot sector comprises 20% of the stockmarket. Banks, which comprise another 20% of the index and are shielded from the credit crunch as their foreign business is minimal, and utilities have also propped up the overall market.
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