Dear members & friends,
CCIFM jointly organised an update on the economic outlook for year 2018 wit Mr. Anthony Dass, Group Chief Economist & Head of Ambank Research at AmBank Group.
The Malaysian economy has performed exceptionally good backed by strong domestic demand in 2017 particularly due to private sector spending, exports, and broad-based expansion across all major sectors. In 2018, with an accommodating domestic development amid buoyant external demand, Malaysian economy is expected to grow at 5.4% this year.
Anthony was able to give few key pointers on the forecasted GDP growth for nation and emphasizes on a not US centric, overall synchronized global growth. This is mainly due to better global growth with expected growth of 6.4% in China and recovery of Europe.
The nation is more business centric and stress are placed on doing business and less on the outcome of the election, this it well indicated with percentage for business loan picking and business revenue has improved across the board allowing a more stable consumer sentiment.
The key business sectors on the lookout will be manufacturing, infrastructure, transport, trading, retail and online/digital and Malaysia’s business future depends on tapping into populations dynamic linked to discretionary spending, innovation, online/digital platform and quality and value add.
Overall Anthony added that 2018 will be a positive year for global economy and business with improving optimism on Malaysia’s business and a positive outlook on KLCI and the USD-MYR exchange to stay healthy supported by the fundamentals.
