AEC Feed

In the wake of the ongoing dismal economic projections, Malaysia's economy is forecast to register a 4-5 per cent growth in 2017, surpassing the projected global economic growth of 3.4 per cent.
Amid the gloomy economic projections moving forward, the Malaysian economy is expected to expand between 4 per cent and 5 per cent in 2017, outbeating the world economy’s expected growth of 3.4 per cent.
As world trade is hampered by growing protectionism, Malaysia’s economic growth is expected to be catalysted by strong domestic demand, especially via significant| private sector expenditure.
In order to encourage robust |private sector activity, pro-growth fiscal and accommodative monetary |policies will be in place in an environment of moderate inflation, which is anticipated to range between 2-3 per cent. To complement the participation of the private sector in boosting the economy, public sector expenditure will be driven mainly by higher capital investment by public corporations. - The Star

Love for savings may prove to be costly 
UNLIKE many other Indonesian parents, Budi Hikmat has never allowed his children to save their excess cash in a bank and instead tells them to invest it in various instruments, such as stocks and mutual funds.
As a senior fund manager, Budi learned that keeping money in banks is as futile as watching the grass grow.
“If we had saved our money in banks [over] the past 10 years, we would have got a 5-per-cent yield, but little do people know that if we had bought bank stocks, we would have got a 21-per-cent yield,” said Budi, the chief economist and investor-relations director of Bahana TCW Investment Management. But only a tiny number of Indonesia’s 250 million people have started to invest, whether in mutual funds or stocks.
At present, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) has only about 490,000 single investor identities (SID) who have invested in shares and 340,000 who have invested in mutual funds, according to Indonesian Central Securities Depository (KSEI) data. - The Jakarta Post

Trade facilitation, investment top agenda 
As a small, land-locked, and resource-dependent country, Laos’ economic growth prospects are directly linked to its ability to integrate with the regional as well as the global economy.
Trade facilitation and investment opportunities in key service industries and the private sector’s concern with the ongoing process of revising the Investment Promotion Law topped the agenda at the 10th Trade and Private Sector Working Group Meeting on Thursday.
The meeting was co-chaired by Minister of Industry and Commerce Khemmani Pholsena, the European Union’s Ambassador and Enhanced Integrated Framework Donor Facilitator for Laos Mr Leo Faber, and German Ambassador to Laos Mr Michael Grau.
The talks drew more than 100 representatives from the public and private sectors and development partners, who exchanged broad views on progress and challenges in two important areas of business climate in Laos. -Vientiane Times