LISTED companies that provide GST-compliant software are expected to record bump in sales in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year as potential market size for GST-compliant software in Malaysia is about RM1.7 billion, MIDF Research said.
“As the Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration deadline draws closer, we are expecting software vendors to enjoy brisk sales in anticipation of pent-up demand for the GST-compliant software,” the research firm said in its note yesterday.
“In turn, it could translate into better share price performance, hence, there may be short-term trading opportunities in the shares of these software vendors,” it added.
A typical software upgrade can cost from RM2,000 to RM10,000.
MIDF said assuming a median software cost of RM6,000 and considering that about 285,000 companies have yet to register, software vendors can expect a sizeable order book of about RM1.7 billion by fourth quarter this year or first quarter next year.
“Our initial check on the official the Customs Department website indicates that there are more than 100 authorised accounting software vendors that SMEs can choose from,” it said.
The vendors include Asdion Hospitality Solutions Sdn Bhd, Century Software (M) Sdn Bhd, DSC Consulting Sdn Bhd, IFCA Solutions Sdn Bhd, YGL E-manufacturing Sdn Bhd and YGL Technologies Sdn Bhd.
Despite the application deadline drawing near, MIDF said businesses do not seem to be in a hurry to register for the eventual implementation of the GST scheme.
It seems only five per cent, or 15,000 of the estimated 300,000 companies, have registered with the Customs for the implementation of GST.