KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 (Bernama) -- Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (“SME Bank”) has projected Malaysia’s growth to hover between 4.5% to 5.0%, reflecting the positive sentiment of the overall economy, in line with the robust Madani Economy framework.
 
Datuk Dr. Mohammad Hardee Ibrahim, Acting Group President/Chief Executive Officer of SME Bank said, “Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”) growth accelerated to 5.1% Year-on-Year (“YoY) for the full year 2024, which is well within our in-house estimate of 4.3% to 5.3%. This was driven by stronger household spending and supported by favourable labour market conditions, robust investment and recovery in external trade. Riding on the back of this positive momentum, we forecast Malaysia’s GDP for 2025 to register between 4.5% and 5.0%.
 
“Upholding our commitment towards empowering the entire Small and Medium Enterprises (“SMEs”) ecosystem, we continue to provide financing and beyond financing support aimed at scaling up and catapulting the growth of our SMEs. In particular, we are proud to continue being entrusted by the Government with new and existing programmes as mandated in the National Budget 2025 across key strategic sectors such as the Bumiputera, Technology, Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”), Halal and Tourism segments, which are among the driving forces in supporting the regional catalysts – contributing to the betterment of the economy at large,” Datuk Dr. Mohammad Hardee Ibrahim.
 
Aligning with SME Bank’s developmental mandate as one of Malaysia’s leading development financial institutions, the Bank remains committed to supporting small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”), recognising them as a vital pillar of the nation’s economy.  Thus, SME Bank is pleased to publish its 2025 Economic Outlook Report, providing an overview of Malaysia’s economic performance and valuable perspectives to support SMEs in navigating the year ahead.
 
Lynette Lee Li Qing, Chief Economist of SME Bank commented, “We anticipate GDP growth performance in 2025 to be driven by expansion in the services sector, which will remain the primary engine of growth, with increased support from both consumer and business related subsectors.
 
“Going forward, we remain cautiously optimistic on Malaysia’s overall growth performance in 2025 amid rising headwinds, mainly stemming from the external side such as slower GDP growth in key trading partners, potential escalation of the United States – China trade war and rising global protectionist policies, volatile geopolitical conflicts as well as lower than expected commodity production and prices,” Lynette Lee Li Qing added.
 
Key highlights at a glance:

 
SME Bank’s growth forecast for 2025 is in line with the latest projection by the World Bank’s economic outlook in January 2025, which targets global growth to stabilise at 2.7% in 2025 and 2026. This stabilisation is supported by easing inflation, lower commodity prices and monetary easing across advanced as well as emerging economies. Key ASEAN economies like Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam will benefit from strong domestic demand, infrastructure investments, and expanding trade.
 
The full SME Bank Economic Outlook Report 2025 is available on SME Bank’s website: https://bit.ly/EO2025PR

Issued by:
SME Bank Group Strategic Communication

Please click link below for attachments:
SME Bank Economic Outlook - Google Drive  


SOURCE : Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (SME Bank)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Name: Arnee Ismail
Head, Group Strategic Communication
SME Bank
Tel.: 03-2615 2954
Email: arnee.ismail@smebank.com.my 

--BERNAMA