Tough Recovery for Malaysia and Singapore CAD Large Format Printer amidst COVID-19 Pandemic; IDC

According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker, Malaysia and Singapore computer-aided design (CAD) large format printer shipped 192 units in the first quarter of 2020 – declining by 52.8% quarter over quarter (QoQ), and 32.6% year over year (YoY).

Currently, Malaysia and Singapore depend on millions of foreign workers to fill blue collared jobs – especially in construction and agriculture. In Singapore, COVID-19 cases have surged pass 40,000 with an estimate of 90% being foreign workers. Meanwhile in Malaysia, emergence of new clusters of cases consists of foreign workers working at a construction site.

With tightening of inspection and standard operating procedures (SOP) surrounding foreign workers, construction activities will not be able to continue as usual in 2020. The Malaysian government has ordered all foreign workers in the country to undergo compulsory COVID-19 testing. Furthermore, movement of foreign workers in and out of the country has also been disrupted.

Amidst the panic, Building Information Modelling (BIM) vendors are currently using the COVID-19 pandemic as a stepping-stone to promote and provide online training. The Malaysian government has also offered US$163 million in grants and loans to Small Medium Enterprise (SME) and mid-tier companies to digitalize operations as part of the Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan, which contractors and developers can utilize for BIM adoption.

As activities start to resume in stages with the loosening of the lockdown, IDC expects that construction growth will remain stagnant for at least 2 years. The government of both countries have their hands full on overcoming COVID-19 cases and much expenditure has been channelled to that cause. Infrastructure spending in 2020 will be targeted to complete ongoing projects at a reduced cost and/or over an extended construction period as the industry solve the foreign worker woes.

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