Thailand
World Bank forecasts Malaysia’s GDP growth to remain steady
KUALA LUMPUR: The World Bank sees Malaysia as having a strong expanding economy, but the key to maintaining its success is to put more emphasis on developing its healthcare and education system.The World Bank, in its latest report on the country, has forecast growth to remain steady at 5.4% this year.
“What we continue to emphasise in this report (Malaysia Economic Monitor) is the importance of looking at the quality of growth — looking at the inclusiveness of growth going forward and how every Malaysian can benefit from the economic success that the country has,” its country director for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, Dr Mara Warwick, said.
Warwick was speaking to reporters after the launch of the report entitled “Malaysia Economic Monitor – Navigating Change” yesterday. “We see that Malaysia has a very strong economy, and is moving towards becoming a high-income economy,” she said.
The Malaysian economy expanded 5.4% in the first quarter of 2018 from 5.9% in the preceding quarter. The central bank expects the country’s gross domestic product to grow between 5.5% and 6% this year.
Meanwhile, World Bank Malaysia lead economist Dr Richard Record said it was important that Malaysia’s debt is managed vigilantly and efficiently, in a prudent manner with transparency.
“We are encouraged that the government is committed to maintaining its 2.8% deficit target by the end of this year.
“The government is rightly looking at not just revenue and expenditure to consider the measures to be taken, but also efficiency measures for current spending and capital expenditure,” he said. He added that it was vital to recognise that the vast majority or 97.7% of Malaysia’s debt was denominated in ringgit, so there was limited risk, particularly for foreign exchange.
In addition, a majority of Malaysia’s debt is medium term, with almost 70% having a maturity period of over three years.
But despite its sound economic fundamentals, Malaysia, like most countries around the region, is struggling to attract new investment amid rising international trade tensions.Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, however, believes that the challenge is to win back investor confidence. Speaking on the sidelines of the launching of “Malaysia Economic Monitor – Navigating Change” by the World Bank, Azmin said the focus of the new government is to ensure that foreign direct investment (FDI) in Malaysia is sustained.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2018/07/03/world-bank-forecasts-malaysias-gdp-growth-to-remain-steady/