The Ministry of Finance held a roadshow in Singapore and Hong Kong recently to proactively engage ratings agencies and foreign institutional investors to articulate the Pakatan Harapan government’s rationale for the fiscal and development measures put up in Budget 2019.
Aimed at building a solid foundation for A Resurgent Malaysia, leading into a Dynamic Economy for a Prosperous Society, led by Minister of Finance Lim Guan Eng, the roadshow was organised in partnership with the CIMB Group, Maybank and Standard Chartered Bank.
The 2019 Budget was specially curated to demonstrate the government’s commitment to reinstate Malaysia’s position as a nation that is politically, economically and socially progressive, premised on transparency, accountability and good governance.
Most investors and ratings agencies felt that the 2019 Budget presents a good balance between fiscal discipline and sustainable, broad-based growth strategy for the coming year, and yet with a multi-year perspective on fiscal policies.
On concerns of the possibility that Malaysia’s sovereign rating could be downgraded due to its bigger deficit, Lim stressed that the Government is confident of cutting its fiscal deficit from 3.7 per cent in 2018, to 3.4 per cent in 2019, 3.0 per cent by 2020, and 2.8 per cent in 2021.
The consolidation exercise would help Malaysia keep its credit ratings at A- without sacrificing economic growth and more importantly, the wellbeing of the people.
“We must be cognizant that systemic reforms will require time to implement and some parts of the economy may be in for a rough ride but with strong fiscal management and institutional reforms, Malaysia will continue to be on a stronger and more sustainable growth path,” said Lim.
“We are committed to ensure that Malaysia continues to remain business and investment friendly.
“Given our wealth of natural resources, sound economic fundamentals, a strong professional workforce and highly sophisticated capital markets, the time to invest in Malaysia is now.
“I am excited for what the New Malaysia’s continuing growth story holds for the people, as well as for current and future investors,” he added.
Lim also reinforced the collaboration between banks and the government, lending weight to the government’s policy direction for a stronger public-private partnership to boost economic growth, ensure a robust financial industry and instil investor confidence.
