Malaysia Still Defensive

Teoh Su Yin, Head of Research for Malaysian and Asean at Deutsche Bank, expects Malaysia to slow down (GDP forecast 4.6% in 2011, 4.2% in 2012) due to softer external conditions, but it could be buffered by domestic demand. On the markets, she says Malaysia should be credited for outperforming other Asian markets in difficult years and while Indonesia has overtaken Malaysia in terms of size and growth, Malaysian companies have robust balance sheets and are invested in Asean. Budget 2012 is expected to contain goodies for the man-in-the-street like higher income thresholds for tax and rebates for the lower income group.