Malaysia’s GDP in Q1 2020 to Contract for the First Time in over A Decade

Malaysia's economy is projected to contract in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1 2020) for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2009, as the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted private consumption and external demand. Based on a poll of 21 economists, the median of the results was for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to contract by 1%, for the first time since the 3rd quarter of 2009. Individual forecasts ranged from a GDP growth of 1.3% to a decline of 4.2%.

According to DBS Bank’s Senior Economist, Irvin Seah, the Malaysian economy is expected to face an economic downturn in 2020 with 0.8% growth in the GDP during the first quarter. Seah added that the sharp decline in oil prices and the economic impacts of...