StanChart sees 2.7% GDP growth for M'sia in 2012
Posted on 17 January 2012 - 05:38am
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17, 2012): Malaysia's
economy is expected to hit a trough this quarter, before growth
accelerates as the year progresses, boosted by a pick-up in domestic
activity, analysts at Standard Chartered Research said.
They expect the still-robust demand for commodities, led by palm oil,
rubber and liquefied natural gas (LNG), to cushion the impact of weaker
export numbers from the manufacturing sector.
Standard Chartered predicts the country's gross domestic product
(GDP) will expand at a "sub-par" rate of 2.7% in 2012, which is about
half the pace of the government's official forecast of between 5% and 6%
this year.
The economy grew 4.8% last year.
The government's growth target for 2012 is "too aggressive" given the
poor global economic outlook this year, said the bank's Southeast Asia
head of research Tai Hui.
"Malaysia, being an open economy, is susceptible to the fallout in the West,'' he said in a briefing yesterday.
Standard Chartered also sees the possibility of a 50-basis point
(bps) rate cut by Bank Negara Malaysia in the first half of 2012,
starting with a 25bps cut in March. "The focus will be growth over
inflation,'' Tai said.
While growth will not collapse like it did in 2008 and 2009, a
further deterioration of the European debt mess will prompt central
banks across Asia to be more dovish and growth-oriented in the first
quarter of 2012.
"Asia has not decoupled from the West, but is better insulated and
more diversified,'' the bank's chief economist Gerard Lyons said.
He also sees the trend of inflows from the West into Asia continuing,
as global investors continue to seek higher yields outside their home
markets.
With the West still deep in crisis, gold is poised to become a winner again this year.
The bank's global head of commodities research Hsi Han Pin said gold
price is expected to rebound toward US$2,000 an ounce from its recent
pullback to US$1,600.
Hsi also has a relatively benign view on crude palm oil (CPO), which
he expects to average RM3,450 a tonne in 2012, up from RM3,216 in 2011.
This is higher than local analysts' prediction of an average RM3,000 a tonne.
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