| Malaysia
News Update - January 2003 |
| Malaysia may go for economic stimulus |
Malaysia will consider 'pump priming' measures to boost the economy, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said, signaling growth in 2002 was at the lower end of the government's expectations and may be slowing. The reduced estimate reflects slowing economic activity in the final quarter after the economy expanded as much as 5.6% in the three months to Sept 30 from a year earlier. Both exports and imports grew at their slowest pace in five months in November. |
| Govt to unveil new growth strategies |
Second
Finance Minister Datuk Dr Jamaludin Jarjis says Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad will announce details of the
package which comprises Malaysia's new strategies to sustain
growth when releasing its gross domestic product figure for
the fourth quarter of 2002. The GDP figure is expected to
be released by end-February. |
| KL plans more foreign investment tax breaks |
Malaysia
will give more tax breaks to foreign investors, cut red tape
and ease labour restrictions to attract investments into the
country, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.
The government will speed up issuing licences and land titles
to foreign companies and extend the time foreign skilled workers
are allowed to stay in the country. Malaysia is stepping up
the drive for investments as global investors cut spending
on additional capacity and move their money to bigger markets
such as China, which drew US$52.7 billion in foreign investments
last year. |
| Up to RM 18b MGS issues expected |
The investment fraternity anticipates the Government to issue RM15 billion-RM18 billion worth of Malaysian Government Securities this year to part-finance its expenditure and pump-priming measures. |
| November trade surplus up 15.3% on-month to RM5.6b |
The trade surplus for November 2002 rose 15.3% to RM5.6 billion from RM4.8 billion in October, according to the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade).
The trade surplus was also higher compared with the RM3.9 billion in November 2001. This was the 61st consecutive month of trade surplus since November 1997. |
| December CPI goes up 1.7% year-on-year |
The consumer price index (CPI) for December rose 1.7% year-on-year and was 0.2% higher than in November, the Statistics Department said. |
| Bank Negara reserves up RM14.3b at end-2002 from year earlier |
Bank Negara's international reserves stood at RM131.5b as at 31 December 2002 - an increase of RM14.28 billion from the RM117.22 billion at end-2001. "The increase in reserves reflected the overall strong fundamentals of the economy with foreign exchange inflows generated mainly from the repatriation of export earnings and foreign direct investment," the central bank said in a statement. |
