Malaysia’s GDP growth set to be highest in Asean

The GDP growth for the fourth quarter of 2022 is expected to reach 5.7%.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to hit 8.4% in 2022 compared with 3.1% in 2021, marking the highest growth among Asean countries, according to Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd.

The GDP growth for the fourth quarter of 2022 is expected to reach 5.7%.

Bank Islam chief economist Firdaos Rosli said this would be a better-than-expected forecast despite the political turmoil which began in early 2020 and subsided after the 15th General Election in November last year, which culminated in to the formation of a unity government.

“Furthermore, the ringgit reached a historic height of RM4.746 in early November 2022, pressured by the widening interest rates and bond yield differentials.

“We posit that such compelling growth was bolstered by the continued expansion in the domestic demand and firmer recovery in the labour market, aside from the low-base effect factor,” he said in a note yesterday.

Firdaos said although the Malaysian economy would continue to grow amid a global slowdown in 2023, a recession would be less probable as the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals are solid.

He said private consumption would continue to be the primary driver of economic growth throughout the year, in addition to China’s reopening prospects that could help limit the decline. — Bernama