[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 26 Aug 1999
Time: 00:26:55
Remote User: -
Central bank chief says Malaysia 'comfortably' out of recession
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (AFP) - Malaysian central bank governor Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman said Wednesday the country was "comfortably" out of recession after gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.1 pecent in the June quarter.
Speaking at a news conference accompanying the release of the quarterly GDP data, Ali Abul said Malaysia saw positive growth in February and March.
"Now we are comfortably out of the recession," he said.
The Bank Negara governor declined to give GDP forecasts for the third quarter but said he expected Malaysia to post higher growth in the second half compared to the first half when the economy expanded by 1.4 percent.
Although full-year GDP is expected to grow faster than the one percent forecast by the central bank in March, he said there were no immediate plans to change the initial forecast.
"Any changes will be done during the budget. When the economic report is presented that is the time when it will be changed."
Ali Abul attributed the sharp growth in the June quarter to a combination of internal and external factors. On the external side, he said exports were strong while the manufacturing sector peformed well.
"Confidence has returned," he said, adding that he expected the economy to continue to grow sharply as there was "so much potential in the economy."
Ali Abul said growth was expected to exceed the 5.0 percent projection for 2000 and asserted that capital controls had allowed the government to concentrate on recovery efforts.
"I am happy that all the measures taken are effective. It was done using our own resources," he said.
Malaysia imposed capital controls in September last year, ending external convertibility of the ringgit and fixing the exchange rate at 3.8 to the dollar.