Malaysia’s minister cuts growth projection to 5%

Bloomberg

Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng pared back expectations for economic growth for this year to about 5 percent as the export-reliant nation braces for knock-on effects of a brewing trade war.
“If the global economy slows, as a trading nation, definitely Malaysia will be impacted,” Lim said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
His forecast is more bearish than most economists’ estimates and lower than the central bank’s 5.5 percent to 6 percent projection.
Almost two months in office, 57-year-old Lim is spearheading PM Mahathir Mohamad’s agenda to bring down government debt, curb spending and fight corruption. He has to do that with lower revenue after a 6 percent consumption tax was scrapped and against the backdrop of rising global risks as US-China trade tensions intensify and investors flee emerging markets.
“But let’s say if things can be kept on even keel, there are also opportunities for us,” Lim said. “Not only as a trans-shipment point, but also as a neutral country in this dispute, which allows both China and American companies to invest and also export their products.”
Trade has underpinned Malaysia’s expansion since last year, helping to push up the growth rate to 5.9 percent in 2017.