Malaysia’s economy grows 4.5percentinfirstquarter2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s economy grew by 4.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2019 (1Q 2019), with private sector activity remaining the key growth driver.

In a statement yesterday, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said on the supply side, major sectors continued to expand, with the exception of mining, due to the decline in oil and natural gas production arising from unplanned closure of production facilities.

“The agriculture sector rebounded in rising to 5.6 per cent in 1Q 2019 from a contraction of 0.1 per cent in 4Q 2018, on account of strong recovery in oil palm yields which provided an additional li to growth,” it said.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the central bank said the economy grew by 1.1 per cent.

Going forward, BNM said the Malaysian economy is expected to remain on a steady growth path, with private sector demand anticipated to remain the anchor of growth, amid lower public sector spending.

“The external sector is likely to grow marginally in tandem with modest global demand,” it added.

Overall, the central bank said the baseline projection is for the Malaysian economy to grow between 4.3 and 4.8 per cent for the year.

In another development, BNM said with effect from 1Q 2019, Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in constant terms, had been rebased to 2015 prices from 2010.

“The rebasing exercise by the Department of Statistics Malaysia reflects an enhancement of data sources and coverage, as well as methodological improvements, in line with international standards for statistical compilations,” it added. — Bernama