Malaysia's financial system strong, says World Bank

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's strong financial system even among its Asean peers and beyond has not only impressed others but its expertise was now being sought after by many, says the World Bank Group.

Country director, South-East Asia (Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand), East Asia and Pacific Region, Dr Ulrich Zachau, said these countries were seeking Malaysia's expertise to improve their financial system.

He said Malaysia emerged stronger, among others, in terms of access to credit and the number of people with access to sophisticated financial investment tools.

"This is the result of many decades of good work and systematic development of both private and public institutions," he told reporters after presenting a talk at the Global Emerging Markets Programme organised by the Securities Commission in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

He stressed that Malaysia's growing responsibilities and strong regulations in its financial governance had attracted many countries to emulate Malaysia.

"Besides Asean, countries in the Middle East were also looking to benefit from Malaysia's financial services to strengthen their own system," he said.

Asked about Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) outlook this year, Zachau said the World Bank maintained its projection at 4.5%.

"At this point, our projection is still 4.5%," he said. "However, we will revise regularly and our internal analysis will come out with its projection in a month from now."

Last year, the World Bank projected Malaysia's GDP would ease to 4.5% in 2016, from 4.7% in 2015, reflecting some slowdown in domestic demand.

The international financial body said domestic demand was projected to grow and would remain the main driver of growth against a backdrop of soft global demand.

Meanwhile, the three-day programme, beginning Tuesday, is a platform for capital market regulators to exchange information and ideas to promote cross-border cooperation in developing, implementing and adhering to internationally recognised standards of regulation, market oversight and enforcement principles. 

Some 200 regulators and capital market industry leaders from 23 countries are attending the GEMP. - Bernama