Export-led growth to drive economy
Country banks on US recovery to sustain stability. Reports by Nazvi Careem
Malaysia's economy grew above expectations in the last quarter of 2013 and the outlook for this year is stable as long as the country is able to withstand internal and external factors, according to one analyst.
Reining in federal spending and streamlining taxation for individuals and corporations will be key, along with developments in the United States, Thailand and China, says Ramu Thannirmalai, director of Decision Insider, a research organisation focusing on Southeast Asian trade.
"The first quarter may experience volatility because of rising prices on consumer commodities such as oil and sugar and could have a strain on the domestic economy," Thannirmalai says. "However, export trade should counter these effects with the United States economy sustaining its course towards recovery."
Malaysia's economy grew 5.1 per cent in the final quarter of last year, according to Bank Negara Malaysia, the country's central bank. The figure was above economists' forecasts of 4.8 per cent with growth supported by stronger manufacturing and services sectors.
The central bank says that on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the economy expanded 2.1 per cent compared with 1.7 per cent in the third quarter of last year.
Year-on-year, the economy grew at a slower pace than the 6.5 per cent growth registered in the fourth quarter of 2012. For the whole of last year, the Malaysian economy grew 4.7 per cent compared with 5.6 per cent in 2012, Bank Negara says.
