Malaysia to see growth next year despite challenging global economy, says economist

SINGAPORE: Malaysia will continue to see growth of slightly below four per cent despite the challenges faced by the world economy, said ICAEW Economic Advisor and Centre for Economist and Business Research’s (Cebr) chief executive, Douglas McWilliams.

 

“There are two quite important challenges for Malaysia in 2013.

“First, the world trade is unlikely to grow rapidly and Malaysia as a strong exporting nation will be affected by the pace of (global) growth.

“The second is that the world economy is likely to be weak.

“Demand for tin, rubber and palm oil are likely to be relatively weak and that will also have a knock-off effects on Malaysia,” he told Bernama after presenting the findings of ICAEW report at a special briefing here.

The report, entitled “Economic Insight: South-East Asia”, is produced by Cebr, ICAEW’s partner and forecaster.

Commissioned by ICAEW, a professional membership organisation supporting chartered accountants around the world, the report provides its 138,000 members with a current snapshot of the region’s economic performance.

McWilliams said, however, there would be growth (for Malaysia).

“We are looking at growth of about just under four per cent next year, which most countries would say it is a very good result but it is a little bit below the official expectation,” he said.

On whether Malaysia was an attractive destination for investors, he said: “I think investors will continue to be interested in Malaysia because it has a lot of opportunities, skilled labour force and good infrastructure, so these things are attractive,” he said.