Maybank Investment Bank Bhd expects the capital market to be bullish in 2017 with the issuances of local bonds expected to be between RM80 billion and RM85 billion.

Chief Executive Officer, Datuk John Chong, said 80 per cent of these bonds, predominantly to fund infrastructure projects, were likely come from sukuk issuance.

"We are involved in major infrastructure projects with Sarawak Hidro and arranged rights issue of over RM2 billion for Sime Darby Bhd," he told reporters on the sidelines of Invest ASEAN Malaysia 2017 here today.

Also present was Maybank Group Head of Global Banking, Datuk Muzaffar Hisham.

Chong added that there was a healthy pipeline of initial public offerings and fund-raising exercises to fill the market throughout the year.

On the ASEAN-6 economies which comprised Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, he said, they might grow by 4.8 per cent in 2017 and 4.9 per cent in 2018, picking up from the estimated 4.6 per cent in 2016.

"The growth will be driven by consumption and a part of it by infrastructure, we believe," he said.

The investment bank's data showed ASEAN-6 was to invest US$600 billion (US$1 = RM4.43) in infrastructure projects between 2016 and 2020, with some 92 per cent of the projected infrastructure spending allotted for transportation, electricity and power. - Bernama