Afternoon Highlight (24/11/11/195/504) Malaysia likely to see 5%-6% growth next year

Malaysia likely to see 5%-6% growth next year

KUALA LUMPUR: Private investment growth will continue to be the main driver for the Malaysian economy, which is anticipated to expand between 5% and 6% next year, according to Lim Seng Gim, the Finance Ministry's macroeconomics head (economics and international division).
Lim said private investment in the country is estimated to hit RM113bil in 2012, compared with a forecast of RM94bil this year.
“This will be spurred by flows from the implementation of various projects under the ETP (Economic Transformation Programme) and investments in Iskandar Malaysia in Johor,” he said during the Macroeconomic Conference organised by Affin Investment Bank Bhd yesterday.
Lim noted that Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to grow by 5% to 5.5% this year.
“Private investments had reached about RM75bil during the first three quarters of 2011. We are on track to hit more than RM90bil in private investments this year.”
He said there were 14 ongoing high-impact projects in Malaysia worth RM38.2bil, including developments in the oil and gas sector as well as the My Rapid Transit (MRT).
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected Malaysia's economy to grow by 5.2% this year and 5.1% in 2012.
Other speakers at the conference included IMF resident representative in Singapore Ravi Balakrishnan; John Wong, who is an academic advisor at the East Asian Institute, the National University of Singapore; and the Government's Performance Management and Delivery Unit director of ETP Investment Ku Kok Peng.
Ravi reiterated that the global economy was at a dangerous stage, with significant downside risks due to the eurozone's debt crisis and a weakened US economy.
He said the baseline forecast was for more uneven global economic recovery of 4% next year, with an estimated 6% growth in emerging markets and about 2% expansion in advanced economies.
“Domestic demand can be resilient for emerging economies in Asia. However, if their exports are impacted, they are likely to see a significant reduction in domestic demand,” cautioned Ravi.
Meanwhile, Wong said China, as the world's second-biggest economy, was expected to see a slowdown in its growth momentum to 8.5%.

Source: The Star
Date: 24 November 2011
Afternoon Highlight (24/11/11/195/504)