Malaysia’s economic growth eased further in the three months ended June, in line with expectations, figures from the Department of Statistics showed Friday.
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Malaysia’s economy expanded 4.0 percent in the second quarter, the slowest pace in almost seven years, as exports and domestic investments were weak.
It is Malaysia’s slowest rate of expansion since a 1.1 percent contraction in the third quarter of 2009 during the global financial crisis.
Like Singapore a day earlier, Malaysia’s central bank warned that uncertainties in the global economy could weigh on the country’s growth in the second half of this year.
“We have taken all the necessary actions against the company as entrusted to us under the law, and we have closed the investigations”, he said in response to a reporter’s question about whether Bank Negara would initiate a new probe into 1MDB following the findings by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
In May 2016, 1MDB said it had fully paid the undisclosed sum of penalty to Bank Negara.
In January, the government trimmed its full-year economic growth forecast to 4.0-4.5 percent from 4.0-5.0 percent. Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy grew 4.2% in the first quarter from the previous year.
The current account surplus narrowed to RM1.9 billion in the second quarter, down from RM 5 billion in the first quarter, due to a smaller trade surplus and higher net income payments, the central bank said.
The ringgit currency has strengthened about 7 per cent this year after a grim 2015 when it plummeted more than 20 per cent against the USA dollar on the collapse of global crude prices, slowing demand from top-trade partner China and a financial scandal tied to state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
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Bank Negara “will be guided by worldwide protocols” if the DOJ approaches the central bank for assistance in its investigation, said Muhammad.
