Part of Kuala Lumpur capital of Malayssia (Source: themalaysianreserve) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Bank Islam Malaysia Bhdon February 9 stated that Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projectedto hit 8.4% in 2022 compared with 3.1% in 2021, marking the highestamong ASEAN countries.
The bank also projects the country’s GDP growth for thefourth quarter of last year to reach 5.7%.
The bank’s chief economist Firdaos Rosli said the better-than-expected results are thanks to the continued expansion in domesticdemand and a firmer recovery in the labour market, aside from the low-baseeffect factor.
Furthermore, the ringgit reached an historic high of4.746 MYR (against the US dollar) in early November 2022, pressured by thewidening interest rates and bond yield differentials.
Firdaos said although the Malaysian economy will continueto expand in 2023 amid a global slowdown, a recession will be less probable tooccur as the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals remain solid.
He said that private consumption will continue to be theprimary driver of economic growth throughout the year.
China’sreopening prospects can help limit the decline, he added.
The bank projects the Malaysian economy to grow by 4.5%in 2023 sans the impact of China’s economic reopening and subsidyrationalisation.
The latestmultilateral development banks’ (forecasts) project Malaysia to grow between 4%and 4.4% in 2023.
Meanwhile, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd estimates real GDPto grow at 6% in the fourth quarter of 2022, with full-year 2022 growth at 8.5% butwill decelerate to 4% this year.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) has revised Malaysia's GDPgrowth estimate for the fourth quarter of 2022 upward to 6.8% from itspreliminary estimate of 5.5%./.
