BNM: Economy on steady growth path going forward
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s economy is expected to remain on a steady growth path going forward with growth supported mainly by private sector activity, says Bank Negara Malaysia ( BNM) Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus.
Positive labour market conditions and capacity expansion will continue to support robust private consumption and investment respectively, she said in a statement released here today.
She said Malaysia’s macroeconomic fundamentals also remained strong, providing the country with the requisite buffers to effectively manage potential shocks to the economy.
BNM yesterday announced a slower gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 4.5 per cent in the second quarter (2Q) of 2018 due to supply disruptions while private sector activity continued to be the primary driver of growth.
The statement said headline inflation was projected to moderate going forward but the extent of the moderation would depend on the pass-through from changes in the consumption tax policy.
Underlying inflation, which excludes the impact of changes in the consumption tax policy, is expected to remain relatively stable in the coming quarters supported by sustained private sector spending.
Meanwhile, headline inflation in 2Q declined to 1.3 per cent (1Q: 1.8 per cent), mainly reflecting the zerorisation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate.
The impact from the GST zerorisation, however, was offset by higher transport inflation.
Nevertheless, the fixing of the RON95 fuel price since March 22, 2018 helped to contain further increases in fuel inflation during the quarter.
In the statement, BNM announced that it is featuring two articles, the first of which – “Divergence of Economic Performance and Public Sentiments” – assesses the disconnect between the strong economic performance and the pessimistic outlook among some Malaysians.
The second – “Transforming Mobile Phones into E-Wallets in Malaysia” – highlights the Bank’s progress in accelerating Malaysia’s migration to e-payments, with a focus on key developments relating to mobile payments and its potential to transform Malaysia’s payments landscape. — Bernama