Kuala Lumpur, Apr 14 (IANS): The Socio Economic Research Centre (SERC) of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia has projected the Malaysian economy will grow at 4.1 per cent in 2023.
The SERC said on Thursday in a report that the growth is underpinned by a more sustainable pace of private consumption, which made up 60.2 per cent of total GDP in 2022.
It noted that exports, which had been a strong contributor to the economy, have displayed slowing momentum since late 2022, Xinhua news agency reported.
It is noted that the Malaysian economy achieved a strong recovery growth of 8.7 per cent in 2022 after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The SERC concurred with the Malaysian Central Bank's assessment that the upside and downside risks to the economy are roughly balanced.
The report said that global economic uncertainty remains elevated, pertaining to the lag impact of global monetary tightening in some advanced economies, tighter credit conditions, high consumer inflation and business costs pressure, as well as lingering fears about the recent banking stress in the US.
It also said the slowing growth momentum of exports reflected the dampening effect of weakening global demand, easing prices of energy and commodities, and the impact of high base effects in 2022.
However, it said that China's reopening would help to strengthen domestic tourism, trade activities and foreign direct investment inflows from China.