PETALING JAYA: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng says the reaffirmation of Malaysia’s sovereign credit ratings would be the “best rebuttal” to those who criticise the government’s handling of the economy.
In a statement, he provided updates on the economy, specifically the country’s improved rankings in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index and Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI).
He said Malaysia had jumped three spots from its 2019 ranking to 12th for the 2020 Ease of Doing Business index. In Asia, it is now the 4th easiest place to do business after Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea.
“The rise was contributed by regulatory reforms that made starting a business and dealing with construction permits easier,” said Lim.
He said institutional reforms had also seen Malaysia ranked among the best-improved countries in the latest WGI, which measures institutional quality across 214 countries.
“In determining sovereign credit ratings, international credit rating agencies take into account various factors including fiscal conditions, economic conditions and the institutional quality of a country.”
The credit ratings use the Ease of Doing Business Index and the WGI to determine a country’s institutional quality and, by extension, credit ratings, he added.
He said Malaysia’s positive performance in both these indices would play a critical role in keeping Malaysia’s sovereign credit ratings high at A3 or A-.
“The government remains committed to implementing its institutional reforms while supporting economic growth in line with the overall Shared Prosperity Vision 2030.
“Successes on these fronts will assist Malaysia in reaffirming its sovereign credit ratings at A3 or A-, which is the best rebuttal to critics who claim that the present government does not know to manage the economy or has increased government’s debts excessively.”
Former prime minister Najib Razak previously said the national debt had risen to RM810 billion under Pakatan Harapan (PH) compared to RM686.8 billion at the end of 2017 under Barisan Nasional.
He also said the PH administration had increased its debt ratio very quickly. - FMT
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