Malaysia’s 2020 GDP Forecast Revised Downwards due to Prolonged Impact of COVID-19

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is now predicting Malaysia’s 2020 gross domestic product (GDP) to contract 3.8% year-over-year (YoY), down from its previous estimate of a 1.7% YoY contraction. The forecast revision comes on the back of the worse than anticipated negative impacts caused by COVID-19 globally in the first half of 2020.

In its June 2020 World Economic Outlook Update, the IMF projects global growth at -4.9% for 2020, down 1.9 percentage points from its April 2020 estimate. The IMF expects the global economy to recover in 2021 and has forecast GDP growth at 5.4% YoY.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) echoed the views of the IMF, projecting Malaysia’s economic g...