Fitch Ratings has affirmed Malaysia's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) at "A-" with a stable outlook.
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Fitch Ratings has affirmed Malaysia's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) at "A-" with a stable outlook (Photo: www.thestar.com.my)
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The rating agency said that the outlook is supported by solid economic growth and a net external creditor position built up from a record of current-account surpluses.
Fitch has also raised its estimate of Malaysian central government debt at end-2017 to around 65 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), from 50.8 percent, following the government's recognition that it will need to service a large share of the explicitly guaranteed debt.
It expects Malaysia's GDP growth to slow to 5.2 percent in 2018, 4.8 percent in 2019 and 4.6 percent in 2020, from 5.9 percent in 2017, as the government seeks to constrain recurrent spending in line with its narrower revenue base.
The agency also projects Malaysia's current account surplus to remain at between 3-4 percent of GDP between 2018-2020, supported by higher oil-related exports and slightly slower import growth./.