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Summary:
Adjusting to shocks. The Malaysian economy has faced a sequence of shocks since mid-2014, including declines in commodity prices, spillovers from China, volatility of capital flows, and domestic political controversy. The economy’s adjustment is aided by its diversified production and export bases, deep financial markets, strong regulatory framework, strong external position, flexible exchange rates, and responsive fiscal policy and reforms. Outlook. The outlook for 2016 is shrouded in uncertainties, owing to a confluence of factors that include the global and regional trade slowdowns; China spillovers; the normalization path of U.S. interest rates; and the uneven strength of activity in Malaysia’s other major trading partners. Nevertheless, growth should remain healthy at 4.4 percent.
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