{"id":16464,"date":"2023-02-28T13:41:42","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T05:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=16464"},"modified":"2023-02-28T13:41:44","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T05:41:44","slug":"malaysias-economy-projected-to-grow-4-1-pct-in-2023-moodys-analytics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?p=16464","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia\u2019s economy projected to grow 4.1 pct in 2023 &#8211; Moody\u2019s Analytics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28<\/strong> &#8212;\u00a0Malaysia\u2019s economic growth is likely to moderate in 2023 with\u00a0the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expected to grow 4.1 per cent after an exceptional 8.7 per cent expansion in 2022, said Moody\u2019s Analytics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Its economist Denise Cheok said the outlook is, however, highly uncertain and tax revenue might undershoot the government\u2019s target if GDP growth comes in lower than expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe global economic slowdown is a key risk and will temper demand for Malaysia\u2019s exports. Uncertainty also surrounds the economic trajectory of China, which is Malaysia\u2019s second-largest export partner and a key destination for its commodities and electronics.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe potential recovery of consumer demand in China is a bright spot, but the transition away from the zero-Covid&nbsp;policy in China will be bumpy as households weather the uptick in Covid-19 infections,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cheok said another headwind is the expected reduction in revenue from state-owned oil company Petronas this year on the back of lower oil prices.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"moody's analytics\" class=\"wp-image-14583\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Moody\u2019s Analytics has forecast&nbsp;Brent crude to average&nbsp;about US$90 per barrel this year, well off the high of US$114 per barrel in the middle of 2022. (US$1 = RM4.47)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the revised Budget 2023, with a record RM388.1 billion allocation &#8212;&nbsp;RM289.1 billion for operating expenditure and RM99 billion for development spending.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDespite bigger outlays, Malaysia aims to trim the budget deficit to five per cent of GDP from the 5.5 per cent outlined in the budget\u2019s first iteration,\u201d she noted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cheok said Budget 2023&nbsp;lays out grand plans of pulling back the fiscal deficit while maintaining subsidies and slashing taxes for lower and middle-income groups.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut details on how this will be achieved are scarce. It is unclear when a goods and services tax (GST) will be reintroduced, if at all, and how the government plans to embark on its path to rein in the ballooning government debt,\u201c she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She said the reintroduction of the GST would help the government make headway toward its goal of reining in the deficit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Anwar in his Budget 2023 speech said there are no plans&nbsp;to implement wide-based consumption taxes, noting that prices are already high in some categories, including food.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cheok said income tax makes up almost 40 per cent of government revenue;&nbsp;hence income tax on those in the higher income tax bracket, with annual earnings above RM230,000, is to be raised, but this is unlikely to make up for the tax cuts in other income groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anwar announced that&nbsp;the tax base will be expanded by, among others, introducing&nbsp;a luxury goods tax and an excise duty on liquid or gel products containing nicotine used for&nbsp;e-cigarettes and vapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/\">NMT<\/a> as reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bernama.com\/en\/business\/news_budget.php?id=2168485\">Bernama<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 &#8212;\u00a0Malaysia\u2019s economic growth is likely to moderate in 2023 with\u00a0the Gross&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,524],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-nation"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal.jpg",2048,1366,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-768x512.jpg",640,427,true],"large":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-1024x683.jpg",640,427,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal-1536x1025.jpg",1536,1025,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal.jpg",2048,1366,false],"newsium-slider-full":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal.jpg",1267,845,false],"newsium-featured":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal.jpg",1024,683,false],"newsium-medium":["https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Malaysia2.jpg.optimal.jpg",712,475,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Editor"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?cat=17\" rel=\"category\">Economy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/?cat=524\" rel=\"category\">Nation<\/a>","tag_info":"Nation","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16464"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16465,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16464\/revisions\/16465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newmalaysiatimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}