Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said the pace of growth was expected to be sustained for the remainder of the year and going into 2020. “Household spending will remain the key driver of gorwth, supported by continued employment and income growth," she added.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's economy expanded by 4.4% in the third quarter of 2019 (3Q2019), which was line with a Bloomberg survey, due to slower growth in service and manufacturing.
The 3Q GDP growth was slower than the 4.9% in 2Q, according to a statement released by the Statistics Department on Friday.
Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said for the nine months, the economy expanded by 4.6%.
She said the pace of growth was expected to be sustained for the remainder of the year and going into 2020.
“Household spending will remain the key driver of growth, supported by continued employment and income growth.
“Private investment growth is projected to remain modest, supported partly by realisation of approved projects, while public investment will be a smaller drag to growth following planned higher capital spending mainly in the transportation segment,” she said at a press conference.
On the external front, Nor Shamsiah said support from net exports would likely moderate, as imports were expected to grow faster than exports in line with the projected improvements in the investment activity.
“The balance of risks to growth remains tilted to the downside, arising from protracted trade tensions, uncertainties in the global economic and financial conditions as well as weakness in commodity-related sectors,” she said.
Meanwhile, Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the Services, Manufacturing and Agriculture sectors were the main drivers of the economy growth for 3Q.
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