PETALING JAYA: Hong Leong Investment Bank Research (HLIB Research) remains neutral on the wood manufacturing sector, as conditions are expected to stay difficult in the second half of this year (2H25) amid weak demand, margin pressures and currency volatility.
The research house said the industry continues to grapple with a subdued global market, cost inflation and a softer US dollar, which has hurt the earnings of export-oriented players.
Timber exports were noted to have dropped by 5.3% year-on-year (y-o-y). This was potentially due to Chinese dumping and soft global demand.
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