KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's exports is projected to grow at an average annual rate of over eight per cent to breach US$498 billion by 2030, according to Standard Chartered.
In its report titled "Future of Trade 2030: Trends and markets to watch", StanChart revealed that Malaysia would be a key driver of the global trade growth, with exports expected to almost double from US$17.4 trillion to US$29.7 trillion over the next decade.
The bank said 43 per cent of global corporates currently did or planned to source/manufacture in Malaysia within the next five to 10 years.
This was evidence that Malaysia would likely be a major driver of global trade growth over the next decade.
Mainland China and Singapore may continue to be the largest export corridors for Malaysia, accounting for 19 per cent and 17 per cent of total exports in 2030, respectively.
Meanwhile, StanChart said India would be a fast- growing export corridor for Malaysia with 11.8 per cent average annual growth from 2020 to 2030.
The report highlighted that machinery and electricals, metals and minerals, and agricultural and food would be the future growth sectors for Malaysia and would dominate exports in 2030.
"Malaysia is investing to become a regional logistics hub and building advanced manufacturing capabilities."
StanChart said global trade would also be reshaped by five key trends - the wider adoption of sustainable and fair-trade practices, a push for more inclusive participation, greater risk diversification, more digitisation, and rebalancing towards high-growth emerging markets.
Almost 90 per cent of the corporate leaders surveyed agreed that these trends would likely shape the future of trade and may form part of their five to 10-year cross-border expansion strategies.
It said globalisation would drive the next decade of growth.
The growth corridors of the future would not just be intraregional, despite recent push towards onshoring.
But rather, growth corridors would span across Africa-East Asia; Asean-South Asia; East Asia-Europe; East Asia- Middle East; East Asia-Europe; South Asia- United States.
"Asia, Africa and the Middle East will see a ramp-up in investment flows, with 82 per cent of respondents saying they are considering new production locations in these regions in the next five to 10 years, supporting the trend towards rebalancing to emerging markets and greater risk diversification of supply chains."
The bank found a significant trend towards the adoption of sustainable trade practices in response to climate concerns and a rising wave of conscious consumerism.
However, while almost 90 per cent of corporate leaders acknowledged the need to implement these practices across their supply chains, only 34 per cent ranked it as a 'top three' priority for execution over the next five to 10 years.
Standard Chartered Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Abrar A. Anwar said trade connectivity was a crucial engine in promoting economic development and the international expansion of Malaysian companies.
"In addition to expanding intra-regional trade pathways, the corridors of the future will still cut across continents," he said in a statement today.
He said the bank would work closely with the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) to focus on making globalisation work for Malaysian businesses, ranging from small medium enterprises (SMEs) to multinationals, and drive a more sustainable and inclusive model for global trade.
"This includes growing our range of sustainable finance solutions to help our clients implement sustainable and fair-trade practices across their supply chains," he added.