ID :
501706
Fri, 08/17/2018 - 08:59
Auther :

Malaysian Central Bank Revises 2018 GDP Downwards To Five Pct

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 (Bernama) -- Malaysian central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has revised downwards the country’s full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2018 to five per cent from the 5.5-6.0 per cent projected earlier due to prolonged disruptions in oil and gas production, and low production in the agriculture sector. BNM Governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, however, said growth would be supported by strong business and consumer sentiments, strong consumer spending due to the tax holiday from June to August, and expansion in manufacturing production capacity. She said this at a press conference on Malaysia’s second quarter GDP growth here Friday. With a five per cent growth projection, Nor Shamsiah believed Malaysia would continue to be one of the fastest growing economies in the region. Going forward in 2019, the BNM governor said growth momentum would remain steady, supported by sustained global growth and trade, recovery of commodity output and favourable labour market conditions. Meanwhile, on the impact of the upcoming Sales and Services Tax (SST) on the country’s inflation, Nor Shamsiah said it would be much smaller compared to the Goods and Services Tax (GST). She said this was because 52 per cent of the items in the Consumer Price Index basket were subjected to the GST but the old SST regime would only apply to 28 per cent of the items. “That means the inflation impact will not be as great as what we saw under the GST regime. “However, it will still depend on the behaviour of traders in terms of their pricing strategy and how they might pass cost to consumers,” she added. -- BERNAMA

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