Published August 18, 2009

Zeti sees M'sia posting positive growth by Q4

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(KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia's economy is showing signs of improvement and may record positive growth by the fourth quarter, central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said.
Ms Zeti: 'Early signs show improvement taking place.'

'Early numbers show clear signs of improvement. But it is too early to tell which quarter' the country will return to positive growth, Ms Zeti told reporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

'We definitely think by the fourth quarter we'll see positive growth,' she said. 'Early signs show improvement taking place.'

Malaysia's industrial production fell by the least in seven months in June as a nine-month slump in exports eased, according to figures from the Putrajaya-based Statistics Department released this week.

South-east Asia's third largest economy may shrink as much as 5 per cent in 2009, according to government forecasts. Its second quarter gross domestic product figures are expected to be announced later this month.

The government has spent its entire budget in the RM67 billion (S$27.5 billion) of stimulus measures announced earlier this year, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said, according to The New Straits Times report on Aug 9.

Malaysia has 'limited room' for additional fiscal stimulus should the country's economic condition deteriorate, the International Monetary Fund said on Saturday.

The government's budget gap may rise to 7.7 per cent of GDP this year from an estimated 4.6 per cent in 2008, the IMF said.

The central bank held interest rates steady at 2 per cent for a third straight meeting last month, saying that the US$187 billion economy showed 'signs of stabilising in the second quarter'. -- Bloomberg