BERNAMA – Malaysia’s economic growth is expected to remain solid at 4.9 per cent in 2025, according to Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank).
Its President/Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said despite a contraction from the 5.1 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) recorded last year, the bank remained confident the country could record reasonable economic growth this year, primarily driven by investments, consumption and continued private investment growth across key economic corridors nationwide.
“Yesterday, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) announced the approved investment for 2024.
“Even the rate of real investments, the money that came in by the third quarter, has also increased significantly year-on-year,” he told reporters after announcing the bank’s financial performance ended December 31, 2024, yesterday.
According to the latest data released by MIDA, Malaysia secured MYR378.5 billion in approved investments in 2024 – the highest in the nation’s history – marking a 14.9-per-cent year-on-year increase from the previous record of MYR329.5 billion in 2023.
Khairussaleh pointed out that consumption constituted the majority part of the country’s economy.
“With higher minimum wage, the ability to withdraw from the EPF, and even higher salary for government servants, will provide the impetus for consumption growth to remain strong,” he added. The bank also expects Bank Negara Malaysia to maintain the overnight policy rate at 3.0 per cent, while loan growth to be stable at about 5.5 per cent this year driven by robust domestic economic growth.
