| Malaysia
News Update - May 2003 |
GDP
growth for the year likely to be revised
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Dr Mahathir says it would be impossible to say Malaysia would not be affected by the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic and the war in Iraq. He says tourism is the third biggest foreign exchange earner. Now that hotel occupancy is down, it is going to affect growth and a revision of the GDP is likely.
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| Bank Negara sticks to 4.5% growth in 2003 |
Bank Negara sees the economy strengthening further in the second half of the year, largely driven by the pro-active measures in the country's monetary and fiscal policies to support the growth. "We have a high degree of confidence that we would realise the 4.5% GDP growth for the year as projected," Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akthar Aziz said at a press conference to announce the GDP growth of 4.0% in the first quarter. |
| No changes to ringgit peg |
Prime Minister Dato Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said there is no intention of making "changes" to the current ringgit peg to the US dollar introduced in Sept 1, 1998 following the Asian financial crisis.
Addtionally, Bank Negara's governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said "as a country, we have never relied on the exchange rate to maintain our competitiveness. Therefore, we just look at it as a mechanism to facilitate trade and investment". Asked whether the ringgit would be re-pegged, she said the exchange rate has been "resilient" in facilitating trade and investment.
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| S&P affirms Malaysia currency ratings |
Standard & Poor's says Malaysia's latest stimulus package will slightly increase the government net debt by year-end to 37% of the GDP from 36% in 2002. However, Malaysia's current sovereign credit rating of "A+/Stable/A-1" rating on local currency and "BBB+/Stable/A-2" rating on foreign currency is not affected, S&P said.
While the RM1.7 billion Federal government measure is lower than it expected, S&P said it still expected to result in a general government deficit of 5.5 per cent of the 2003 GDP.
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| GEM equity funds underweight Mexico, Russia and Malaysia |
The global emerging markets (GEM) equity funds have continued to reduce their exposure to Mexico, Russia and Malaysia, according to the latest allocation data released by EmergingPortfolio.com Fund Research. |
| Manufacturing drives growth of March IPI |
Malaysia's Industrial Production Index (IPI) for March rose by 5% to 190 compared with 180.9 reported in the same month last year due to the expansion in the manufacturing and mining sectors, the Statistics Department said
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| Bank Negara reserves at RM134.88bln at end-April |
Bank Negara's international reserves continued to rise to another record high of RM134.88 billion (US$35.49 billion) as at end-April, an increase of RM1.26 billion from RM133.62 billion on April 15.
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| March exports soared to RM32b |
Malaysia exported goods worth RM32.02bil in March, the highest monthly export value recorded since November 2000, according to the International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) yesterday. This was an increase of 23.7% over February |
| 1Q manufacturing sales up 12.9% to RM81.2b |
Manufacturing sales rose 12.9 per cent, or RM9.3 billion, to RM81.2 billion for the January-March period compared with the RM71.9 billion a year earlier, says the Statistics Department |
| CPI for April up 1.0% on-year |
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April rose 1.0% to 104.2 from 103.2 a year earlier, according to the Statistics department. The department said the CPI was also up 0.2% compared to March. |
| Danaharta 1Q NPL at RM47b |
Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd said its non-performing loans (NPLs) portfolio as at March 31 totalled RM47.58bil (value in loan rights acquired), involving 2,555 borrowers and 2,901 accounts |
| Laws on payment systems drawn up |
A comprehensive legislation on the payment systems is being put in place to provide the mandate for the central bank to effectively oversee and develop the payment systems, says Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz. She said the legislation would also promote a conducive and liberalised environment for the modernisation of the payments system in the country. |
| Lofsa reviewing incentives for foreign investors |
The Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority (Lofsa) is reviewing the incentives for foreign investors as it seeks to attract more international fund managers to set up operations in Labuan, says its chairman Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz She further added that this was to provide an impetus to elevate the fund management industry at the offshore financial centre to a higher level. |
| Biotech hub finally takes off after long delay |
After much delay Malaysia's "BioValley" was finally launched, setting the wheel in motions towards making the country a key player in biotechnology. The project will consolidate all on-going biotechnology initiatives using Malaysia's rich natural resources and flora and fauna. It will also assist, co-ordinate and promote commercialisation of research findings and products of the stakeholders.
Dr Mahathir said the first phase of the project would cost RM100mil involving an agro-biotechnology institute, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical institute and genomics and molecular biology institute covering some 50ha
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| Railway bids under evaluation |
The Government is currently evaluating bids submitted by two consortiums for two double-tracking projects involving the railway line between Padang Besar and Ipoh in the north and Seremban and Johor Baru in the south. |
| Tourism badly hit by SARS |
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has caused a big blow to the tourism trade, slashing domestic travel by some 60% since the SARS issue first surfaced in the country.
The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel (Matta) report, based on a feedback from members to assess the impact of the SARS outbreak, had dashed the industry's hope to fall back on domestic tourism in the face of a drastic drop in foreign arrivals.
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| Hoteliers seek measures to overcome SARS impact |
The Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) wants the government to consider tax exemption as well as lower water and electricity tariffs as some of the ways to help the beleaguered tourist industry overcome the impact of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak. |
| Malaysia safe for sports |
Sports and other activities to be held here should not be cancelled or postponed due to the fear of SARS because Malaysia is safe from the disease, Health deputy director-general Datuk Dr Ismail Merican said. |
| Winning
against SARS |
Positive signs, including no probable or suspected SARS cases for the past four days and increasing passenger loads on Malaysia Airlines flights, indicate that the situation in the country is returning to normalcy |
| Education sector can boost growth |
The education sector can become a catalyst for the growth of the domestic tourism and business sectors, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
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| Scout for new construction projects abroad |
The Government wants Malaysia's 49,000 contractors to consolidate and start looking for new construction projects overseas as part of its efforts to diversify their earnings base as well as not depend too much on local projects |
| Malaysia ranked 4th most competitive among nations of over 20mil |
Malaysia is the fourth most competitive among nations with populations of more than 20 million, according to an annual survey released yesterday by the IMD business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, and quoted in an Associated Press report. |
| PTP scores a world first with airport status given by Iata |
The Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Johor has become the world's first seaport to be accorded airport status by the International Air Transport Association (Iata). This follows the approval of a three-letter identification code, ZJT, for PTP by Iata. Such a code is usually only given to airports to differentiate international air destinations.
The Iata recognition will have far- reaching economic implications for PTP and its customers, including shippers, freight forwarders and logistics companies.
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| Malaysia set to be No. 2 LNG producer |
Malaysia is set to overtake Algeria as the second biggest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) following the opening of the Malaysia LNG 3 plant here. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who opened the Petronas LNG complex, said Malaysia had joined the ranks of the world's largest LNG producers.
"The Petronas LNG complex has already earned the reputation of having the world's largest LNG production facility in a single location. With the completion of the LNG 3 plant, Malaysia will overtake Algeria as the second largest LNG producer in the world
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| KLIA among top five airports in the world |
KL International Airport has been named among the top five in the world in terms of overall passenger satisfaction in a survey by the International Air Transport Association (Iata). |
| Seamless cargo movement via I-Port |
Malaysian seaports and airports can tap intra-Asian cargo transhipment opportunities by providing both sea and air transhipment facilities to international shipping lines.
The concept known as I-Port would allow shippers seamless movement of cargo from regional destinations to Malaysian ports via sea before being delivered to worldwide destinations by air through Malaysian Airlines Cargo Sdn Bhd (MASkargo). The concept first introduced at Northport in Port Klang and at Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Johor.
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| Countries to emulate Malaysia 1st global Sukuk issue |
Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz believes Malaysia's success in launching the world's first Islamic sovereign Sukuk issue of US$600mil through the Labuan International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC) could be replicated soon by other Islamic sovereign states. |
| Malaysia not optimistic about WTO meeting |
Malaysia is not optimistic about the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting in Cancun, Mexico, this September as it has not seen any change in the stance of the major economies, says International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz. Based on the failure of several preliminary meetings and the inability of major economies to meet their WTO commitments, Rafidah does not expect any new round of trade negotiations from the WTO meeting |
| Rafidah concerned over US 'punishing' attitude on trade |
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz has expressed concerns on the United States' move to speed up the signing of bilateral agreements with countries that were seen as backing the war in Iraq. "I think every country is entitled to its own opinions. And to take it out in trade and economic arena, I think it will be unfair to the private sector," she said |
| KL will not emulate Singapore's FTA move |
Malaysia will not be affected by the recent free trade agreement (FTA) between Singapore and the US as the pact covers mainly the services industry and excludes other sectors such as construction, manufacturing and agriculture.
"Malaysia will not follow Singapore's footsteps in signing FTAs with our trading partners and we will not open up our services sector in one go. It will only be liberalised in stages," Rafidah told reporters.
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| Canada hopes to feed demand for halal food |
The United States has predominantly been a big market for Canada, but the latter is now looking at other countries especially in South-East Asia, including Malaysia, to export their agrifood products. In their effort, some Canadian producers are even exploring the Muslim food market, a venture that will inevitably raise the matter of halal certification. |
| Schroeder happy to visit Malaysia |
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is happy to be making his official visit to Malaysia before Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamed steps down as Prime Minister.
Schroeder, who is leading a 17-member delegation, is the first German Chancellor to visit Malaysia. The Chancellor's entourage also includes German Economics and Labour Minister Wolfgang Clement and German Industry Committee for Asia-Pacific chairman Heinrich von Pierer.
He said Malaysia, is a good bridge between the world's civilisations because it is one country where people from various religions have been co-existing harmoniously. As a multiracial state with a multitude of religions, it could serve as a model for other countries and described the peaceful co-existence of the various ethnic groups and equal opportunity for all people as "wealth", which should be preserved
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| ASEAN takes joint stand to battle SARS |
The Asean + 3 Health Ministers Special Meeting on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has taken a joint stand, including mandatory screening of individuals before they leave affected countries and the barring of suspected and probable cases from travelling. |
| PM: Present foreign policies to continue |
Dato Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad is confident that his successor will continue with the country's present foreign policies including handling relations with the US.
"I have absolute faith that my successor will continue with the same policies. There's no problem," said the Prime Minister in response to a question on whether there was any possibility that Malaysia might end up "kowtowing" to the United States after he leaves office in October.
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| Dr M gives Abdullah the thumbs-up |
Dr Mahathir, who resumed work after a two-month holiday during which Mr Abdullah was appointed acting premier, said his deputy made all decisions on his own during the period. 'I think he has done very well. I think he came through with flying colours. I can reassure you that while on holiday, he did not ring me to find out what the issues are. He is able to carry on, on his own,' Dr Mahathir said |
| Zeti reappointed for three more years |
Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz's term as Bank Negara Governor has been extended three more years.
Second Finance Minister Datuk Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail was keen on the re-appointment following the Government's recommendation.
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| Dr Ling and Lim tender resignations |
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik and his deputy Datuk Seri Lim Ah Lek tendered their resignations at the MCA central committee meeting on May 23. |
| Ong the new MCA president, Chan his deputy |
The MCA central committee unanimously appointed Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting as its president and Datuk Chan Kong Choy as his deputy.
This follows the committee's decision to accept the resignations of Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik and Datuk Seri Lim Ah Lek as president and deputy president respectively.
Ong is the Housing and Local Government Minister, while Chan is a deputy Finance Minister. They were elected to the top two posts until the next party elections in 2005.
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| PM accepts Ling's resignation as minister |
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad has accepted Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik's resignation as Transport Minister.
Dr Ling, who stepped down as MCA president on May 23, told a press conference at his office on May 28 that he would be going on a 30-day leave with effect from May 29.
Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, who was appointed the new party president, will assume Dr Ling's duties as Transport Minister from May 29.
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| PM: Racial unity can ensure our freedom |
Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad has reminded Malaysians to preserve racial harmony and unity as this will save the country from attempts by parties out to instigate the people and control the country. |
Highlights
of the Economic Stimulus Package