Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Malaysiancentral bank on March 27 downgraded its forecast for the country’s economicgrowth this year to 4.3-4.8 percent, from earlier projection of 4.9 percent.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) also predicted a significant drop in export expansion due toa slowdown in the global economy and the US-China trade tensions.
In November 2018, the central bank and the government had forecast a 4.9 percenteconomic growth for 2019, compared to an expansion of 4.7 percent recorded lastyear.
Thecountry’s exports are expected to rise 3.4 percent in 2019, just half of lastyear's 6.8 percent increase, while Inflation will average between 0.7 percentand 1.7 percent this year, compared with 1 percent in 2018.
Total debt of Malaysia’s households by the end of 2018 decreased from theamount equivalent to 83.3 percent of GDP in 2017 to 83 percent of GDP,according to BNM.-VNA