Q4 GDP GROWTH OF 4.5 PCT A GOOD SIGN FOR 2010 ECONOMY, SAYS MINISTER

By Minggu Simon Lhasa

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 (Bernama) -- The 4.5 per cent gross domestic product
(GDP) growth for the last quarter of 2009, which exceeded expectations, is an
encouraging sign for the country's economy this year, said Minister of
International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed.

The high growth in the quarter has made Malaysia's economy for 2009 much
better than what was projected earlier, he said during an interview with Bernama
and RTM (Radio and Television Malaysia), government owned broadcasting, here
Wednesday.

It was initially projected that Malaysia's economy in 2009 will contract by
five per cent and this was later revised to three per cent, but finally with the
positive fourth quarter data, the contraction was only 1.7 per cent.

Clearly happy with the regrowth in all sectors in the final quarter, Mustapa
said he was optimistic that the positive trend will continue based on signs that
the country's export growth could exceed the 2-3 per cent growth projected for
2010.

"In fact, according to some of the initial figures that we have seen, there
are indications that the rise in exports in December 2009 has continued into
January 2010," he said.

He said exports in general in the last quarter of 2009 went up 5.1 per cent,
indicating that the Malaysian economy was already beginning to recover.

"We hope that exports this year will continue to rise," he added.

There was a significant rise in exports in the manufacturing sector during
the last quarter of 2009, especially in the electrical and electronic products
sector. The sector recorded a 19 per cent growth during the quarter against a
contraction of 17 per cent in the third quarter of 2009.

Overall, the manufacturing sector recorded a 5.3 per cent growth in the
fourth quarter of 2009 compared with a negative 18 per cent in the first
quarter, the minister said.

-- BERNAMA