Malaysia Domestic Consumption To Stay Stable, Says UOB

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 (Bernama) -- Domestic consumption levels in Malaysia will remain stable in the year ahead backed by stable unemployment rates and high labour participation, said the United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (UOB Malaysia). Economist Julia Goh, in a statement, said the current labour force participation rate is high at 67.8 per cent with companies still realising profits and the average nominal wage growth expected to stay positive. She said these would contribute to Malaysia's domestic consumption growth. "Our positive outlook for domestic consumption is further supported by Malaysia's tourism growth," she said. Goh said the number of tourists who visited Malaysia in the first eight months of this year grew by 3.8 per cent to reach 17.6 million, largely due to the higher number of visitors from China and neighbouring countries Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. She said UOB expects Malaysia's economy to expand moderately next year driven by domestic consumption, mega infrastructure projects and foreign direct investment. The bank had previously forecast Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product to likely grow to 4.5 per cent in 2017 from 4.2 per cent this year. -- BERNAMA