The Malaysian economy is showing clear signs of recovery, despite the impact of Covid-19 and the extended Movement Control Order.

According to Malaysian deputy finance minister Mohd Shahar Abdullah on Sep. 9, the early economic indicators for July reveal the following:

• Exports have increased by 3.1 per cent year-on-year.
• Sales of passenger cars rose by 27.3 per cent as compared to June 2020.
• Sales of commercial vehicles rose by 44.8 per cent as compared to June 2020.
• Domestic passenger movement and highway traffic increased as compared to June 2020.

Mohd Shahar, during his speech to the Dewan Negara, Malaysia's upper house of Parliament, also reported that Malaysia's GDP contraction is slowing down, according to the Malay Mail citing Bernama.

The contraction had gradually reduced from 28.6 per cent in April to 19.5 per cent in May and down to 3.2 per cent in June.

Malaysia recovery expected to continue

Based on these findings and the optimistic projections, Bank Negara Malaysia announced that the growth forecast for 2020 will be a contraction of 5.5 to 3.5 per cent.

However, Malaysia's GDP is expected to grow by about 5.5 per cent to 8.0 per cent in 2021. Mohd Shahar said:

"This clearly shows economic improvement in line with the reopening of economic sectors which started in May, and the recovery is expected to continue, especially in the second half of the year."

"The government will continue to implement various initiatives to improve the people’s well-being, support businesses and revitalise the economy."

In contrast, Singapore's GDP is expected to contract by 6 per cent this year, with a growth forecast of 5.5 per cent in 2021, revised upwards from 4.8 per cent.

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Top image from Shahar Abdullah's Facebook page.