MSIA'S GDP FOR 2009 EXPECTED TO IMPROVE

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's economic growth for 2009 is expected to be better than expected due to among others, the country's improved trade data, SJ Securities head of reaseach, Pong Teng Siew, said Wednesday.

Pong said the firm has recently revised its gross domestic product (GDP)
target for this year to -4 per cent, from its earlier pessimistic estimate of
-4.4 per cent in January.

He said the government had expected contraction to be within the -4 and -5
per cent this year.

"The government's expectation then was because the trade numbers were
terrible. But now they are improving significantly.

"It was even difficult to tell how the export market was going to move,
taking into account its severity back then. But by last June, we could already
see some recovery in exports," he told Bernama here Wednesday.


Pong said it was fortunate for Malaysia then as the semiconductor, as well
as the electrical and electronic sectors, started to improve, and this has
contributed to the GDP in the second quarter.

"We will pick up nicely in the third quarter," he said.

Central Bank of Malaysia Wednesday announced that the GDP recorded a -3.9
per cent contraction for the second quarter this year, an improvement from -6.2
per cent recorded in the previous quarter.

This brings the GDP growth for the first half of this year to -5.1 per cent,
following a higher public spending and positive growth in private consumption.

Meanwhile, MIMB Investment analyst, Rosnani Rasul, said the stock market
was expected to react positively to the country's improved second-quarter
growth.

"Anything less than -5 per cent will get investors to react positively in
the market tomorrow," she said.

-- BERNAMA