Q&A with Malaysia’s Second Finance Minister ahead of upcoming Budget

  • 📰 ChannelNewsAsia
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 64 sec. here
  • 7 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 43%
  • Publisher: 66%

Malaysia Economy News

Ringgit,Budget,Petrol

Malaysia's Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan tells CNA’s Melissa Goh what he is optimistic about, ahead of Budget 2025.

Malaysia's Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan tells CNA’s Melissa Goh what he is optimistic about, ahead of Budget 2025.

Q: The World Bank has described Malaysia's economy as being in a good place right now. What are the major drivers, basis of this strong recovery? The second thing: What the government has also done is that it's also encouraging GLICs to play a role in stimulating the economy. This is important because I think that's one key differentiation that Malaysia has, that not many countries actually have.

Q: But do you think the market expectation is absolutely crucial to get it rolling by the end of the year, in order to show the government’s seriousness in rationalisation? If you look at two years ago, I think we were hitting somewhere close to RM80-something billion for the total subsidy bill, plus social assistance. This year we’ll probably end up in the 60s. So next year, I'm hopeful that with what we've done, we will be well below that number.

Part of it may be looking at ways to have efficiencies in the system so that they can restore back margin. But there will also be winners who actually are importing foreign goods. Now, they're finding the cost of imports dropping. Past experience has shown resilience in the system.Commentary: Malaysia’s economic indicators are improving, so why aren’t Malaysians celebrating?

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 6. in NG

Nigeria Nigeria Latest News, Nigeria Nigeria Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Malaysia’s second finance minister speaks to CNA on expectations from budgetMalaysia's government says it hopes to offer clarity on its plan to slash petrol subsidies in Friday's (Oct 18) budget announcement.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Indonesia's Prabowo asks Sri Mulyani to remain as finance ministerMdm Sri Mulyani is set to become the first finance minister to hold the role under three different presidents.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »