Banking Sector To Perform Well Next Year, Says Ambank Chief

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 (Bernama) -- The banking sector in Malaysia will continue to perform well next year despite the uncertain global economic outlook, especially in Europe and US, says AmBank Group chairman, Azman Hashim. Azman, however, said although Asian countries were still doing well now, the impact from the eurozone and US crises would affect them slightly somewhere. "We expect Malaysia to see slower growth next year compare with this year, but it will still be around five per cent," he said after a media briefing on the Ambang (Eve) 2012 concert here Wednesday. He said the Malaysian economy was fundamentally strong, the country has steady liquidity and banks had enough funds to give out loans. "In fact, based on what the World Bank said years ago, Malaysia is the top in the world in terms of access to money, meaning we are in a good position," he said. The Ambang 2012 Kuala Lumpur concert, which the AmBank Group will be organising for the seventh time, will begin at 8pm on Dec 31, 2011 at Dataran Merdeka here. The concert is held in collaboration with Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, TV2 and the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture. It will feature performers including M. Nasir, Mizz Nina, Jamal Abdillah, Awie, Faizal Tahir and Hujan and will be broadcast live on TV2 from 9.15pm to 1am in conjunction with the New Year celebrations. -- BERNAMA Malaysia