Economy and banking sector to remain stable in 2015

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's economy and banking sector is expected to remain stable in 2015, despite the spillover effect of the fuel subsidy reduction in October and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation in April next year, according to Ambank Group chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim.
"Next year I would say there is a possibility that we could sustain (GDP growth) around 5%. Given the current economic circumstances, 5% is good," he told reporters at the press conference after the launch of his book "The Entrepreneur Banker" here yesterday.
"The banking system in Malaysia actually is very stable, compared to the West, especially US and European countries," said Azman, who is also the chairman of the Malaysian Investment Banking Association.
The prominent banker, who noted that Malaysia is in a good economic position from its initiatives and reforms over the last decade after the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998, said it is necessary to monitor the global economic growth in order to sustain and improve the country's economy.
"Next year, we have to take into account what is happening internationally. We see that the US is doing better, but Europe is not doing as well as we expected, while Japan is still a question mark," he said, adding that one of the factors supporting the country's growth is the ongoing Economic Transformation Programme.
He said currently there are two major regional free trade agreements being negotiated to build on advancing trade and investment liberalisation, as well as to further deepen the regional economic integration, which includes the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
"The idea is in the end, all of these could be the building blocks to achieve the WTO (World Trade Organization). I think Malaysia has involved a lot, including RCEP, TPP and FTAAP (Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific), so we see how it goes," he said.