All out to ensure continued economic growth
Published on: Thursday, April 21, 2016
Kuala Lumpur: The Government is implementing all measures to ensure that the finances remain firm and that our economy continues to grow.Deputy Minister of Finance, Datuk Chua Tee Yong, said the economy grew by 5pc and this year, it is estimated to be approximately 4 to 4.5pc."In fact, despite the drop in oil and commodities prices, our export has shown resilience. Exports in February this year grew by 6.7pc to RM56.27 billion.
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"I am glad to inform you that the trade surplus for Malaysia has been on for the 220th consecutive month since 1997. So despite the oil price drop, the Government, through its effort and business cooperation, has managed to maintain a trade surplus that is healthy and growing."This is welcoming news in terms of enabling the Malaysian ringgit to continue to strengthen. This also proves Malaysia's strong economic fundamentals and it was echoed by international investors and business leaders," he said at the 14th Asia-Pacific International Honesty Enterprise-Keris Award 2016 at the Berjaya Times Square Hotel cum Convention Centre, here.According to Chua, in 2015, the Malaysian Government managed to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to the tune of RM39.5 billion compared with RM35 billion in 2014.
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This, he said, was an indication of foreign investors' confidence in the Malaysian economy and its finances."And this is despite the challenges faced in 2015. In fact, the United States-based HIS Inc ranked Malaysia as among the 10 main investment destinations in Asia-Pacific.
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"The company expects Malaysia to join the rank of Asian nations with a gross domestic product (GDP) exceeding US$1 trillion by 2030 and Malaysia GDP Per Capita reaching US$20,000 by 2025," he added.The Deputy Finance Minister reiterated that Malaysia's economy remains resilient despite the global headwinds in 2015. He attributed this to the Government's implementation of long-term measures on strengthening the economy."That year (2015), there was a recalibration of the budget for both 2015 and 2016, and this was well-received by both the investors and also rating agencies," he said.On the Government's implementation of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) in 2009, Chua said the move was to diversify our economy and such effort has paid off."In Year 2009, oil and oil-related revenue constituted 40pc of the government's revenue. However, in 2015 and 2016, oil and oil-related revenue contributed less than 20pc of the government's revenue. "You could imagine with the drop in oil price, oil still remained as 40pc of the government's revenue, so the impact on the economy and Ringgit would be definitely bigger. As such, with the low trade price of oil in 2015, Malaysia, especially in terms of the performance of currency, was weak," he pointed out.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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