This has also raised optimism that corporate earnings could be better this year, driven by domestic spending and higher commodity prices. “Finally, most corporate earnings for the fourth quarter of 2016 announced are meeting analysts’ expectations, after two or three years of disappointments. “We are positive and expect corporate earnings to grow 10% in 2017, mainly driven by the banks, higher commodities prices and production, as well as improvement in consumer spending. Generally, we are expecting the economy to continue growing,” said Ng when asked about her expectations for corporate earnings growth moving forward. Nonetheless, there are concerns that rising inflationary pressure could curb corporate earnings growth, especially for consumer-related companies, as people’s purchasing power weakens.

Source: The Edge Markets February 27, 2017 01:12 UTC