Article search by : Mr. Zainal Abidin Ahmad

Source : Berita Harian

The Malaysian economy is expected to return to the strong levels recorded before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic by the first quarter of 2022, according to Moody's Analytics.

Moody's Analytics Chief Asia Pacific Economist, Dr Steve Cochrane, said the global economic recovery would contribute to the country's strong economic recovery as Malaysia is an open economy and trading nation, where global growth is influencing the recovery.

He said the implementation of vaccine programs worldwide and at the domestic level would also help stimulate growth and domestic demand. However, he said, the implementation of the Movement Control Order (PKP) 2.0 in Malaysia, with strict bans such as cross-state implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 is expected to pose a risk to recovery.

"Malaysia, Singapore is an open economy, which it will (recover) once the global (economic) recovery. (However) recovery in the travel and tourism sector is still a question for Malaysia and Singapore," he said.

He said this at a virtual briefing on the global economic outlook, yesterday. The Malaysian economy contracted 5.6 per cent last year, the largest contraction ever recorded since 1998 at -7.4 per cent, compared to 4.3 per cent growth recorded in 2019. On the economic stimulus package in Asia Pacific, Cochrane said Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Australia were among the countries in the region that were very active in implementing the stimulus package last year to support their respective economic growth.

He said Moody's Analytics expected the implementation of the economic stimulus package to continue in Malaysia, Singapore and Japan this year to support growth and help pandemic -affected sectors. However, in terms of the size of the stimulus package he stressed that the amount is expected to be smaller than previously announced, in line with the gradual recovery of economic activity.

"The implementation (of the stimulus package) will be more targeted by focusing on the sectors that are truly affected, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs)," he explained. Moody's Analytics Chief Economist, Dr Mark Zandi, said that overall, based on the statistics available so far, the research firm saw Asia Pacific managing the COVID-19 pandemic better than other regions and was on a strong track to record better economic performance. this year.

China, Vietnam and New Zealand, he said, were now seen to be in expansion with levels of economic activity measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment and income, starting to return to levels before the pandemic hit.

"Indeed, Asia -Pacific (countries) are managing pandemics better than other parts of the world. Benefiting from the implementation of very aggressive monetary and fiscal support and increased global demand for goods," he said.

Date of Input: 26/11/2021 | Updated: 26/11/2021 | nurmiera