Malaysia’s GDP to grow 5.2% - 5.7% in Q1

A view of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Illustrative image (Photo: https://www.theedgemarkets.com/)

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Economists expect year-on-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth of Malaysia would be moderate, at between 5.2% - 5.7% in the first quarter of 2023, against 7% in the last quarter of 2022, on the absence of the base effect.

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) projected the GDP growth in the first quarter of 2023 at 5.2%, following the slower industrial production index (IPI) recorded during the reviewed period.  

According to analysts Felicia Ling and Nurul Athira Salith, private consumption is expected to remain as the key driver of growth. They maintained their 2023 GDP growth forecast at 4% year-on-year.

They said that Malaysia’s pace of economic expansion is expected to continue moderating in the coming time, taking into account the absence of the base effect and pent-up demand.

Tighter global credit conditions, weaker global growth and inflationary pressures also continue to pose significant headwinds to trade activity and growth, they added.

Meanwhile, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd also predicted the Southeast Asian nation’s year-on-year GDP growth to have eased to 5.7% in the first quarter this year, projecting a 4% growth in 2023 against 8.7% last year. 

The bank’s chief economist Suhaimi Ilias stressed that the downward trend in GDP growth is likely to persist into the second quarter of 2023./.