KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Singaporean bank OCBC on Monday forecast the Malaysian economy to grow 4.4 percent year on year in 2023.
The bank economists Selena Ling and Lavanya Venkateswaran said in a statement that after a healthy first-quarter growth pace, Malaysia's growth momentum is likely to moderate for the remaining quarters.
Malaysian economic growth remained strong in the first quarter at 5.6 percent year on year from 7.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, supported by resilient domestic demand.
However, the economists opined that the momentum is slowing in the second quarter and will continue to slow in the second half as external economic headwinds intensify.
"We expect Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth to slow to 4.1 percent year on year from the second quarter to the fourth quarter," they said.
According to the economists, the main drag on growth will be from goods exports, reflective not only of weaker external demand, but also fading commodity price tailwinds and a prolonged downturn in the global semiconductor cycle.
They have also lowered the 2024 GDP growth forecast for Malaysia to 4.5 percent from 4.7 percent previously. ■
