S-E Asia growth affected, uncertainty abounds in Malaysia

RGM projects 6% growth in retail sale for 2018.

SINGAPORE: For South-East Asia’s biggest economies, 2018 wasn’t supposed to be like this.

If a widening trade war wasn’t enough to contend with, a global wave of policy tightening, strong oil prices and domestic politics are also weighing on growth prospects for the region. Policy makers are rewriting economic strategies as volatility surges, in some cases putting greater emphasis on currency stability or even structural changes.