Govt maintains 4.8 pct GDP target for 2020: Lim

The government will stick to its initial 4.8 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth target for 2020 despite the World Bank revising its forecast to 4.5 percent.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng (above) said the government will only revise the target if the 4.7 GDP growth projection for this year is not achieved.

"We still feel that we will achieve our target of 4.7 percent (this year) but let us wait for the numbers when they come out next year.

"We will stick to our target (for 2020) and it will depend on our growth performance for 2019. I’m sure if we maintain our growth target of 4.7 percent this year, we’ll likely maintain our 4.8 percent target (for 2020)," he told reporters at a press conference here today.

The World Bank has revised Malaysia’s GDP growth forecast for 2020 to 4.5 percent from its earlier prediction of 4.6 percent due to weaker-than-anticipated investment and export growth in the third quarter of 2019.

In its Malaysia Economic Monitor 2019, it said that subdued trade prospects and increased uncertainty have weighed on business confidence and investment intentions.

- Bernama