ID :
364740
Thu, 04/23/2015 - 12:38
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PM: Malaysia On Track To Achieve Growth Target

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is on track to achieve its projected growth for this year as well as its other goal to attain high-income nation status by 2020, thanks to the stability of its institutions and diversification of its economic structure. The country must not only maintain the momentum but also build on it, said Prime Minister Najib Razak in his keynote address at Invest Malaysia 2015's institutional investor conference here Thursday. He said the government expected Malaysia's economy to grow between 4.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent this year on the back of strong economic fundamentals. It is also on track to achieve its goal of becoming a high-income nation by 2020, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicting the country to enjoy annual growth of 5.6 per cent over the next four years. "Thanks to the stability of our institutions and the diversification of our economic structure, Malaysia has remained on track. However, we must not only maintain our momentum but build on it. This is why the reforms we have enacted under the Economic Transformation Programme are vital," he said. Among the reform measures undertaken were subsidies rationalisation, Goods and Services Tax implementation, Fiscal Policy Committee establishment to reduce waste, prevent misuse of funds and optimise operating expenditure, and firm measures to control inflation. "Food inflation, for instance, has dropped from 3.9 per cent a year ago to 2.8 per cent last month," he said. Najib said the country's gross national income grew 47.7 per cent between 2009 and 2014 while foreign direct investment reached record highs. And if Malaysia achieved its fiscal target for 2015, it would be a record of six consecutive years of fiscal deficits. -- BERNAMA

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