Perhaps, but it will be very gradual given that the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research’s (Mier) indices measuring consumer and business sentiments remain well below the 100-point threshold, indicating sentiments continue to be fragile. For the fourth quarter, the Mier’s consumer sentiments index fell to 69.8 while the business conditions index dropped to 81.2. It says in a report that the latest economic data imply better GDP growth and wider current account surplus. Meanwhile, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd economist Wellian Wiranto paints a brighter picture of the global economy, saying that across Asia, better global sentiments has translated to improved exports, with recent data better than market expectations. He is maintaining a 4.2% GDP growth for this year.

Source: The Star February 17, 2017 23:15 UTC