Malaysian Economy To Grow 4 Pct This Year

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 (Bernama) - Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow four per cent this year, says JF Apex Securities. The research house said the risk of recession in the European countries was escalating as the nations struggle to solve the sovereign debt crisis. “Hence, we forecast Malaysia’s GDP to grow four per cent for 2012,” JF Apex said in its research note Friday. Add to that, it said Malaysia’s trade surplus contracted in the last quarter of 2011 by 28.03 per cent quarter-on-quarter (34.87 per cent q-o-q in 3Q11) as global demand was adversely impacted by the Euro debt crisis. The research house also said the GDP growth of 5.2 percent for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to 4.8 per cent in the same quarter previously was above market consensus and its expectation of 4.8 per cent to 4.9 per cent. "The growth in the fourth quarter was underpinned by steady supply momentum in the services and manufacturing sectors. Besides, demand in domestic economy was driven by the resilient private sector consumption and robust government expenditure in the second half of 2011,” it said. Meanwhile, Consumer Price Index (CPI) has continuously declined in the second half of 2011 after reaching its peak of 3.5 per cent in June 2011. JF Apex said the central bank held its Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at three per cent after the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting on January 31 last year. “We expect OPR to be revised in March, by cutting 25 basis points amidst the threat of weaker external demand,” it added. -- BERNAMA