TRADE ministers from both sides of the Causeway say it is still too early to conclude that a strong recovery is at hand despite positive economic signs.
Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang told a gathering of almost 700 Singapore and Malaysian business owners yesterday: 'While we are probably past the worst of the economic crisis, we are still not out of the woods.'
Mr Lim's Malaysian counterpart, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed, added: 'There are more green shoots than yellow weeds around, so hopefully the green shoots will outnumber and overwhelm the yellow weeds, then the worst will be over.'
Mr Lim pointed out that key economic indicators have been showing signs of stabilisation globally in recent weeks.
'Hopefully, the sharp declines that we saw for trade in the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year would be a thing of the past,' said Mr Lim at the dialogue session on business opportunities in Malaysia.
The minister said manufacturing output appears to have picked up here, with positive readings in June for leading indicators such as the Purchasing Managers' Index and Index of Industrial Production.
He added that business expectations in the second quarter for local firms in manufacturing and services have also become less negative compared with the previous quarter.
Advance gross domestic product estimates for the second quarter indicate that the economy expanded by 20.4 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualised basis - the first expansion after four consecutive quarters of contraction.
Mr Lim cited the volatility in exports that suggest it was premature to assume that Singapore's exports have stabilised, and the labour market outlook has also yet to improve.
With the Malaysian economy expected to contract between 4 and 5 per cent in 2009, Datuk Mustapa also cautioned against expectations of a rapid recovery.
But he remained upbeat, expecting to see 'improvement in the numbers' in the next quarter.
'Anecdotal evidence from some of our (small- and medium-sized enterprises) indicates that some orders have picked up, just like in Singapore,' he added.
Source: Straits Times, 7 Aug 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment