PUTRAJAYA: The announcement by China of its US$586bil fiscal stimulus plan is a positive move and will help Malaysia avoid a recession.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that China, as a big importer of commodities like palm oil and rubber, and other products from Malaysia, would contribute to the confidence in the country.
“It will contribute to confidence in terms of capital markets. China also has the ability to export some of its capital to this part of the world.
“We see it as a positive move because if people have the confidence, they will start to consume or invest. Even the flow of tourists will continue.
“Hopefully, our region will benefit as well from the plan by China,” he told reporters Wednesday after launching the Price Cut Campaign at Carrefour hypermarket here.
China had recently announced that it would spend US$586bil (RM2.1 trillion) on housing and infrastructure projects to sustain its economy and create jobs for its people.
Najib said Malaysia was still confident of riding out the economic crisis if all the projects announced under its own fiscal stimulus plan took off as scheduled and there was no global depression.
“We can achieve the projection for this year and the next. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we are quite confident that we will be able to achieve the micro target that I announced in Parliament recently,” he said, adidng that the Government was committed to ensuring growth at a reasonable rate so that any crisis would not affect the people’s well being.
Earlier in his speech, Najib said he hoped that the price cut campaigns initiated by Carrefour and other hypermarkets were genuine discounts to benefit consumers.
“This year is an exceptional year for us because the inflation rate shot up. But next year, we will return to the inflation rate that is more normal in our country - around 3% to 4%.
“I hope the price cut initated by the hypermarkets is genuine and not a mirage. I hope the price cut can be extended to other outlets besides hypermarkets and restaurants. If the price cut can be carried out across the board, then we will be able to achieve the Government’s objective of ensuring that Malaysians’ well being during the crisis," he said.
-FROM HERE-
No comments:
Post a Comment