WB revises down growth forecasts for Philippines, Malaysia

April 01, 2020 | 10:06

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The World Bank (WB) has revised down economic growth forecasts for the Philippines and Malaysia due to the adverse impacts of COVID-19 and strict community quarantine.

wb revises down growth forecasts for philippines malaysia

In the Philippines (Photo: Internet)

Accordingly, the lender forecast that the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) will decrease from 5.9 percent in 2019 to 3 percent in 2020. Consumption was predicted to fall strongly in the first half of this year while public transport works and investment in the private sector would slow down.

However, the report predicted that its growth is expected to accelerate rapidly in 2021-2022 as global conditions improve, and with more robust domestic activities bolstered by the public investment momentum and a boost from 2022 election-related spending.

The WB also lowered Malaysia’s economic growth forecast to -0.1 percent from 4.5 percent this year.

It said net exports and investments in Malaysia are expected to experience a larger contraction in 2020, while private consumption will grow at a much slower pace, from 7.6 percent in 2019 to 1.6 percent in 2020.

The Malaysian government recently announced an economic stimulus package worth 250 billion ringgit (58.14 billion USD) to mitigate the epidemic’s impact.

Malaysia’s economic growth dropped to the lowest in 10 years to 4.3 percent in 2019 when disruptions in supply hit agriculture and production.

VNA

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