Malaysia's economy grows 5.9% in 2Q
Malaysia's economy expanded at its fastest rate in 18 months in the second quarter helped by stronger household spending, exports and investment, with the central bank forecasting full-year growth to come in near the upper end of its forecast range.
Gross domestic product grew 5.9% in the April-to-June period, accelerating from 4.2% in the first quarter.
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Gross domestic product grew 5.9% in the April-to-June period, accelerating from 4.2% in the first quarter.
Read more at https://tinyurl.com/nhdxzadc
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
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Transcript
00:00In the second quarter of 2024, the Malaysian economy advanced by 5.9 percent.
00:11This was supported by higher household spending and amid positive labor market conditions
00:19and larger policy support for the pickup in export goods and tourist arrivals, as well
00:25as a robust expansion in investment activities.
00:29On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP showed a stronger growth momentum
00:36of 2.9 percent, higher than 1.5 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
00:43At this level of growth, 5.9 percent, this is actually the highest since the fourth quarter
00:49in 2022, where we recorded 7.4 percent growth.
00:54And that was due to the reopening effect.
00:57And we acknowledge that this current growth is driven by a number of positive factors,
01:01which I highlighted just now in my presentation.
01:04First is surge in investment.
01:06We see firm consumption.
01:08We see recovering exports, which could still continue into the near term.
01:12There was also some base effects, actually, because I think last year, second quarter,
01:18the growth was 2.8 percent.
01:20However, we are also mindful of the specific one-off factors and risks that could also
01:25affect growth in the second half, particularly first in terms of the lack impact of the drier
01:33El Nino weather, which peaked in first quarter this year on all palm fields, which could
01:40dampen production in the next three to six months.
01:43Second is the scheduled maintenance activities in the oil and gas subsector during the third
01:47quarter, which could lead to lower-than-expected production.
01:51And third, in terms of the external shocks in the form of worsening conflicts, supply
01:56disruptions, clutter protectionism, and more volatile financial markets.
02:02Therefore, we are of the view that growth this year is still firm, and we are comfortable
02:08to expect growth that is closer to the upper end of our forecast range, between 4 to 5
02:14percent.
02:15And this forecast is subject to the upside risk and also downside risk.
02:19If the upside risk does materialise, of course, it could be around 5 or even higher.
02:24But if the downside risk materialises, it will be within that range.