‘GOVT TO REAFFIRM SUPPORT FOR B40’
Measures to raise income, purchasing power of group likely, says Affin Hwang
THE 2019 Budget will reaffirm the government’s commitment to reforms, such as enhancing the well-being of the people in the Bottom 40 (B40) income group, said analysts.
The B40 group refer to households with income mean of RM2,848, based on the Report of Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey 2016.
Affin Hwang Capital said while Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had noted that the upcoming budget would include some belt-tightening measures, the austerity policy would likely focus on reprioritisation of programmes and projects.
“As the first budget for the new government after the 14th General Election, we believe that other budget proposals will focus on sustaining economic growth, especially domestic demand, and reducing the burden of rising cost of living. These include measures to raise the income and purchasing power of the people, especially B40 households,” said Affin Hwang in a note yesterday.
It also expects some measures on affordable housing to rectify the mismatch between demand and supply in the housing segment.
“This has also been guided in the midterm review of 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP), where 200,000 affordable houses are targeted to be built for the remaining years of the 11MP (2018-2020),” it said.
Affin Hwang said in the second quarter of this year, 33.1 per cent of launched residential properties were in the RM500,001 to RM1 million price range, which were above the affordable price range of RM150,000 to RM500,000 as defined by the Housing and Local Government Ministry.
“We believe the government’s incentives for affordable housing would be in line with the National Housing Policy 2.0 (NHP 2.0) by the ministry.
“The NHP 2.0 is expected to offer better financing programmes for the lower income group and address the mismatch in demand and supply of affordable housing projects,” it said.