High GDP growth reflects govt’s move to embark on digital economy

KUALA LUMPUR: The highest gross domestic product (GDP) growth recorded in three years in the third quarter (3Q) of this year mainly reflected the government’s move to embark on digital economy, says an analyst.

Affin Hwang Investment Bank vicepresident and head of retail research, Datuk Dr Nazri Khan Adam Khan, said the digital economy, namely e-commerce and online shopping, among others, had been among the main catalysts to significantly contribute to consumer spending.

“In my opinion, the decision to embark on the digital economy has proven to be the best decision made by the government, which has been translated into the robust economy growth so far.

“As we can see, the e-commerce and online shopping have been doing well,” he told Bernama.

Bank Negara Malaysia today announced that the GDP for 3Q grew by 6.2 per cent, the highest growth since the second quarter of 2014’s 6.5 per cent.

Nazri said the positive sentiment could also be a turning point for the government to cut its household debt moving forward.

Meanwhile, Sunway University Business School Economics Professor, Dr Yeah Kim Leng, told Bernama the strong GDP growth for 3Q was in line with estimations, given that most indicators on industrial output, manufacturing sales, services and exports were showing sustained or better performance than the second quarter.

“The GDP growth has exceeded the second quarter’s 5.8 per cent year-on-year as estimated,” he said. — Bernama