THE world we occupy is indeed challenging. Decisions and events miles away can affect our shores – leading to external shocks facing our economy today.
Despite this, the Malaysian economy is resilient and growth remains forthcoming.
Advance estimates show the economy growing by 3.3% in the third quarter, compared to 2.9% last quarter.
While we are currently experiencing weakness in global demand and the tech downcycle, domestic demand is holding up well.
More recent indicators are already showing signs of recovery. Looking ahead, we expect the global economy to improve.
The initiatives to strengthen Malaysia’s economic structure, including transitioning towards a greener economy, will certainly provide additional impetus to business activities and employment opportunities.
As a highly open economy, the exchange rate is a very important relative price affecting many aspects of the economy.
With growth gaining momentum, steady disinflation, a current account surplus and a strong banking system, current ringgit movements appear to be more heavily influenced by global events and certainly do not reflect our economic fundamentals.
I want to emphasise strongly that Malaysia’s economy today is resilient, notably in terms of our economic fundamentals, robustness of our financial sector, and depth of our financial markets.
Let me also stress that the bank remains committed to deploy necessary measures to ensure that the ringgit adjusts in an orderly manner and businesses continue to be facilitated. We have been in the markets, and we will, when needed, continue to be in the market.
All of this underscores the importance of building buffers and the urgency to continuously pursue reforms to increase the resilience of our economy, and to build a better world. – October 24, 2023
The above is an excerpt of Bank Negara Governor Datuk Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abdul Ghaffour’s welcoming remarks at the Joint Committee on Climate Change Journey to Zero Conference 2023 on October 23, 2023