Malaysia sees more Chinese tourists

The total Chinese tourist arrivals in Malaysia increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year to 551,000 in the first quarter, and the momentum may continue to pick up following some encouraging measures by China and Malaysia, Maybank Investment Bank research said in a report on Thursday. “The number accounted for only 18 percent of the 3 million target of Malaysian government this year. That said, we opine that it ought to pick up,” the report said. According to Tourism Malaysia, the total visitor arrivals in Malaysia were flat in the first quarter, falling 0.5 percent yearon-year. China ranked third in terms of visitor arrivals to Malaysia in the first quarter. It accounted for 8.3 percent of the total visitors to Malaysia. ized real 1.0 percent in the January-March period, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday, downgrading the figure from preliminary data. According to the Cabinet Offices latest data, the expansion in real gross domestic product corresponds to a 0.3 percent increase from the previous quarter. Real gross domestic product is the total value of goods and services produced in the country adjusted for inflation. In a preliminary report released on May 18, the government said that Japan’s economy grew a real 0.5 percent from the previous quarter, or an annualized 2.2 percent, in the first quarter of 2017. costs. The Bank of Korea lowered its policy rate from 3.25 percent in July 2012 to an all-time low of 1.25 percent in June last year.