GDP forecast for 2009 to between minus 4% and minus 5% for 2009

Below is the news from Malaysia The Edge:-

PUTRAJAYA:The Government has revised downwards the country's GDP forecast for 2009 to between minus 4% and minus 5% for 2009 from earlier projection of minus 1% to 1% after 1Q GDP shrank a worst-than-expected 6.2%.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said on May 28 the wider contraction projection was due to a steeper decline in exports, coupled with a decline in private investment.

"External demand plummeted more than expected," Najib said.

On whether the current GDP projections factored in the worst case scenario, he said the forecast was based on a realistic view of current conditions, although he said it would also depend on whether the US and Europe economies worsened.

He added, however, Malaysia's economy was expected to recover by year-end, and the government was hopeful 4Q09 would show positive growth.

On May 27, Bank Negara said the Malaysian economy contracted 6.2% on-year in the first quarter of 2009, the worst since the Asian financial crisis, as manufacturing output shrank sharply as exports and industrial production fell.

Manufacturing contracted 17.6%, mining fell 5.2% while agriculture saw a 4.3% decline. Services also showed a decline of 0.1% but construction rose just 0.60%

This is the true when we still see a lot of company close down.