Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia's economy is expected to remain resilient this year, driven by the ongoing foreign direct investment (FDI) and robust infrastructure investment, said HSBC chief Asia economist Frederic Neumann.
Neumann was quoted by local media as saying that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.9% in 2025, close to the bank's expectation of around 5%, underscoring the economy's underlying strength despite emerging global headwinds.
Malaysia's growth this year at 4.5%, down slightly from five-ish percent last year, but it's still a very resilient outcome for the country and that partly is also driven by the ongoing investment in Malaysia, he said during a virtual media briefing on HSBC Asian Outlook 2026 on January 19.
Neumann noted that continued infrastructure development and steady FDI, particularly in electronics, semiconductors and data centres, are expanding Malaysia's productive capacity and underpinning medium-term growth prospects.
Malaysia remains very competitive, not least in the electronics sector and the semiconductor supply chain, where it is benefiting from the increased demand for electronics that the bank has seen partly related to artificial intelligence (AI). Given subdued inflation momentum, HSBC has revised down its headline inflation forecast slightly to 1.4% for 2025 but kept the 2026 projection at 1.7%.
Head of equity strategy for Asia-Pacific, Harald van der Linde, is moderately positive on Malaysia's equity market as Malaysia offers a mix of defensive characteristics and moderate upside potential, placing it "in the middle of the basket" among Asian equity markets./.
Malaysia needs to stay neutral to remain investment destination: official
Malaysia's economy is open and has established cooperative relations with all countries, so it needs to continue playing its role as a “neutral” country with a strong ecosystem in the technology sector to ensure the country remains an investment destination, an official has said.
