KUCHING: Malaysia’s economic growth prospects for 2025 have dimmed, with the World Bank revising its GDP forecast down to 3.9 per cent, citing ongoing global economic challenges.
The revised projection was shared by World Bank lead economist for Malaysia, Apurva Sanghi, via his official X account (@ApurvaSanghi).
“With all possible caveats, we project Malaysia’s 2025 growth rate at 3.9 percent.”
The downward revision puts Malaysia behind several of its regional peers in Southeast Asia.
According to his post, Vietnam is forecast to lead Asean growth at 5.8 percent, followed by the Philippines (5.3 percent), Indonesia (4.7 percent), Cambodia (4 percent), and Thailand (1.65 percent).
China, a major trading partner, on the other hand, is expected to grow at 4 percent.
The World Bank’s announcement comes on the heels of comments from Bank Negara Malaysia, which acknowledged that its earlier GDP forecast of 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent for 2025 may need to be reassessed, particularly in light of new tariffs imposed by the United States.
The World Bank’s projection also follows a downgrade by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which earlier this week revised Malaysia’s 2025 forecast to 4.1 percent from 4.7 percent.
