THE Government has maintained the country’s economic growth forecast for 2022 in the range of 5.5% to 6.5%, said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
He said the figure was also in line with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank projections of 5.7% and 5.8% respectively.
“The continued momentum of the country’s economic recovery is clearly visible with a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.1% for 2021,” he was quoted as saying in the 84th Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (LAKSANA) report released today.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) and Bank Negara Malaysia have announced GDP growth of 3.1% in 2021, in line with the Government’s projection of between 3% and 4%.
This figure is an improvement over 2020, when GDP contracted by 5.6%.
Tengku Zafrul said the increase in GDP reflected the momentum of economic recovery that was clearly visible during the fourth quarter of last year, especially through improving economic indicators.
He said investors were also seen to be more confident in the country’s recovery prospects.
“For example, net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows reached more than RM50 bil in 2021, higher than the years before COVID-19 hit the country.
“In fact, total foreign trade has already exceeded RM2 tril, chalking up the fastest growth since 1994,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul said the growth momentum is expected to continue this year, which would be the impetus for the country’s GDP to continue to recover to levels before the pandemic.
“Going forward, this year’s growth will be driven primarily by expansion propelled by Budget 2022, normalisation in economic and social activities based on high vaccination rates, resumption of projects with high multiplier effects and strong external demand, especially from major trading partners,” he noted. – Feb 12, 2022
