International agencies have forecast that Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021 will be in the range of 6.3 per cent to 7.5 per cent, says Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
The Finance Minister said the projections are subject to Malaysia’s continued success in managing COVID-19, as well as in steering and nurturing the economy towards recovery and growth.
"As Malaysia is an open economy, whether our growth will be a U-shaped or V-shaped recovery will also depend on external factors such as the recovery of our major trading partners as well as the restoration of global supply chains," he said in his welcoming address at Invest Malaysia 2020 today.
Malaysia recorded only five new COVID-19 cases on Monday, with only 198 active cases and an approximately 98 per cent recovery rate to date.
"The rate of infections may have been low in our country, but the public has been constantly reminded against complacency.
"Everyone has been urged to continue complying with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for various sectors and activities in order to prevent new infections in the country," he said.
Tengku Zafrul said for 2020, the GDP has been estimated to be within the range of -3.8 per cent to 0.5 per cent by various agencies.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has projected economic growth to be within -2.0 per cent – 0.50 per cent, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (-3.8 per cent) and the World Bank (-3.1 per cent).
"This is wholly expected, as more than 150 out of 195 countries in the world are expected to post negative growth in 2020.
"But what is most important is to ensure that a health crisis does not turn into an economic crisis. This is why Malaysia has rolled out the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) and the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA),” he noted.
On the health and resiliency of Malaysia’s capital markets, Tengku Zafrul said over the past decade, Malaysia’s capital markets have grown by an average of 5.1 per cent annually and are valued at over RM3 trillion, twice the size of the country’s GDP.
This is represented almost equally in terms of total equity market capitalisation, as well as the value of bonds outstanding, he said.
Tengku Zafrul added that the FBM KLCI has also shown resilience relative to other countries as at end- June, 2020.
"Within ASEAN emerging markets, we are the best performing market. Furthermore, as at market close yesterday, the FBM KLCI is close to recouping over RM200 billion in market capitalisation, taking the market cap back to levels seen at the start of the year," he said.
In terms of the total assets managed by fund managers, Malaysia has seen an average annual growth of nine per cent to RM823 billion as at end-2019, driven by investments in unit trust funds, which saw average annual growth of 8.7 per cent throughout the same period, with a total net asset value of RM482 billion.
"Without a doubt, the capital markets have served as a key platform to mobilise savings and investments by efficiently allocating resources to finance businesses that create jobs and wealth," he said.
In May alone, the country saw the average daily trading value increase by 65 per cent compared with April and recorded the highest daily trading value of RM9 billion.
"Daily volume of 11 billion shares was hit in the same month, a level not seen since 2010. This reflects investors’ optimism in the gradual reopening of Malaysia’s economy, underpinned by a low interest rate environment," Tengku Zafrul said.
Local retail investors have bought more than RM6 billion net as at end-June, with average daily trading value (ADV) of RM0.9 billion, which was about 90 per cent of local institutional ADV.
"This is further supported by 128 per cent growth in ADV compared to an average annual growth of 9.7 per cent for the past three years.
"As they say, behind every crisis there is an opportunity. We believe that investors returned to the Malaysian markets in May to invest in companies that would benefit not just from the re-opening of the economy, but also from the raft of stimulus measures and tax incentives offered by the government," he added.
In addition, Tengku Zafrul said various global rankings have also validated Malaysia’s position on numerous metrics, and are testimony to the country's sound policies and measures.
Among them, Malaysia was ranked fourth globally in handling the COVID-19 crisis by the Toluna-Blackbox Index of Global Crisis Perceptions 2020; 12th in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2020 Report as well as in the DHL Global Connectedness Index 2019; 26th in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2020; and 27th in the World Economic Forum’s 2019 Global Competitiveness Index.
He said from those rankings, Malaysia’s total approved investments are a testament of the country’s position in ease of doing business.
Earlier this year, five manufacturing and services projects by foreign investors worth RM4.6 billion were approved in sectors such as electrical and electronics as well as medical devices.
In 2019, Malaysia recorded RM208 billion in approved investments.
-- BERNAMA
Bernama
Tue Jul 07 2020
Tengku Zafrul said for 2020, the GDP has been estimated to be within the range of -3.8 per cent to 0.5 per cent by various agencies - file pic
Seorang maut, lapan cedera serangan udara Israel di Kem Pelarian Jenin
Seorang penduduk Palestin terbunuh manakala lapan lagi cedera dalam serangan udara Israel ke atas kem pelarian Jenin di Tebing Barat yang diduduki pada Jumaat.
Uzbekistan mahu kerjasama dengan JAKIM dalam piawaian halal
Uzbekistan menyuarakan hasrat untuk bekerjasama dengan Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) bagi memastikan piawaian halal di negara itu mencapai ke tahap yang sama seperti dilaksanakan oleh JAKIM, kata Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Gaza sudah 10 hari tidak terima bekalan perubatan
Tiada bekalan perubatan diterima di Semenanjung Gaza selama 10 hari ketika Israel meneruskan serangan ganas ke atas wilayah terkepung itu.
Perhilitan selamatkan gajah jatuh longkang
Perhilitan Perak berjaya menyelamatkan seekor gajah betina yang jatuh longkang di Batu 11, Jalan Raya Timur-Barat (JRTB) berhampiran Tugu Peringatan JRTB di sini pada Jumaat.
Memerangi fahaman radikal & ancaman baharu pengganas
Untuk perincian berkenaan perkara ini kita bersama Penolong Profesor di Institut Pemikiran dan Tamadun Islam Antarabangsa Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (ISTAC-IIUM), Dr Ahmad El Muhammady.
AWANI Ringkas: FBM KLCI dijangka dipacu ke paras rintangan 1,620
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Perkhidmatan telekomunikasi Yoodo tamat operasi 29 Ogos ini
Menurut perjanjian gabungan Celcom dan Digi sebelum ini, Celcom harus menutup ataupun menjual perniagaan Yoodo 18 bulan selepas gabungan tersebut dimeterai.
Malaysia, Uzbekistan kongsi amalan terbaik dalam pelancongan
Malaysia berharap untuk menjadi hab pelancongan bagi rantau Asia Tengah ke Malaysia serta negara-negara ASEAN.
Uzbekistan mahu bekerjasama dengan JAKIM dalam piawaian halal
Uzbekistan juga berhasrat untuk bekerjasama dengan Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) bagi meningkatkan kualiti rawatan di negara itu.
Zainal Rahim dilantik Pengerusi Majlis Perundingan Gaji Negara
Bekas Pengerusi SPA, Tan Sri Zainal Rahim Seman dilantik sebagai Pengerusi Majlis Perundingan Gaji Negara (MPGN) bagi tempoh 1 Mei 2024 sehingga 30 Sept 2026.
Ulang tahun ke-50 Malaysia-China: Hubungan diplomatik dua negara kekal utuh
Hubungan Malaysia dan China kukuh kerana kedua-dua negara itu sama-sama diiktiraf sebagai negara berdaulat mengikut undang-undang antarabangsa.
Ringgit ditutup tinggi melonjak ke paras 4.68 berbanding dolar AS
Pada 6 petang, ringgit meningkat kepada 4.6810/6850 berbanding dolar AS daripada paras penutup 4.7050/7075 pada Rabu.
PM baharu dijangka pertingkat libat urus dengan rakyat Singapura dan Malaysia
Singapura bakal menyaksikan peralihan kuasa pertamanya dalam tempoh 20 tahun apabila Perdana Menteri Lee Hsien Loong mengambil keputusan untuk berundur.
Tenaga boleh baharu: Kerjasama dengan rantau ASEAN akan diperluaskan - Fadillah
Negeri-negeri seperti Sabah dan Sarawak dilihat berpotensi besar untuk menjadi pembekal tenaga boleh baharu (RE), jelas Fadillah.
UTP raih kedudukan teratas di Malaysia, ASEAN dua tahun berturut-turut
Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) meraikan kejayaan bersejarah buat tahun kedua berturut-turut apabila meraih tempat teratas sebagai universiti nombor satu di Malaysia.
Negara maju harus tundukkan 'ego' dan bekerjasama dengan ASEAN - Penganalisis
Menurut Faisal, ini kerana negara membangun di ASEAN sedang mencorak ekonomi ke arah lebih mampan yang perlu dimanfaatkan negara maju
PM Vietnam cadang ASEAN jadi model transformasi digital global
Perdana Menteri Vietnam mencadangkan orientasi kejayaan untuk menjadikan ASEAN sebagai model dalam transformasi digital di peringkat global.
Malaysia muncul destinasi utama pengembangan perniagaan di ASEAN - Kajian UOB
Malaysia telah muncul sebagai negara paling penting dalam ASEAN untuk diceburi perniagaan, seperti yang ditunjukkan oleh Kajian Tinjauan Perniagaan UOB 2024 (PKS & Perusahaan Besar).
Malaysia perlu masa untuk teliti cadangan visa bersama enam negara ASEAN
Malaysia memerlukan lebih masa untuk meneliti cadangan Thailand mengenai program visa bersama dengan enam negara ASEAN lain.
Konflik Myanmar: ASEAN tegas kepentingan laksana Konsensus Lima Perkara
ASEAN tegaskan semula komitmen bantu Myanmar cari penyelesaian dengan mewujudkan persekitaran kondusif melalu pelaksanaan Konsensus Lima Perkara.