KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's economy may have ended 2022 on a strong note, with economists expecting gross domestic product (GDP) numbers to grow as much as 10 per cent for the year.
Bank Negara Malaysia will announce the fourth quarter (Q4) and full-year 2022 GDP growth numbers on Friday.
In Q3, Malaysia's economy continued to build on the momentum of economic recovery, delivering even faster growth of 14.2 per cent compared to 8.9 per cent in Q2 and five per cent in Q1.
Overall, the GDP expanded by 9.3 per cent during the first nine months of 2022.
"It is expected with strong trade and commerce numbers, solid domestic demand and above all investment inflow will have favourable income growth for the last quarter," Juwai IQI chief economist Shan Saeed told the New Straits Times.
Juwai IQI estimates the GDP in Q4 will have meandered around eight to 10 per cent.
"Malaysia GDP growth stands parallel with top ASEAN economies such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia," Shan said.
He noted that the full-year GDP growth for Malaysia in 2023 was likely to be between 4.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent, with the domestic demand and investment and trade outlook holding the key for the current year.
"The government is likely to deliver growth numbers and economic outcomes despite global economic instability and financial fragilities.
"Intra-Asean, China opening and, above all, the China-Gulf Cooperation Council investments are likely to have positive impact on the region. Asean GDP size is going to touch US$4 trillion to US$4.5 trillion by 2025," he said.
Putra Business School MBA programme director Prof Dr Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff shares similar view and expects the country's GDP growth for Q4 2022 to be around 4.5-5.0 per cent.
"My projection is between four per cent and five per cent, maybe 4.5 per cent. This is because the GDP performance in Q4 2021 was very encouraging, amounting to RM371.3 billion, an increase of around 10 per cent from the GDP of Q3 2021.
"As for 2023, GDP growth would probably be around four to six per cent," he said.
