Malaysia's economy grows quicker than expected in Q2

Malaysia's economy grew more quickly than expected in the second quarter as it recovered from a Covid-induced slump a year ago, but the central bank slashed its forecast for 2021 growth due to new lockdown measures.

Malaysia's economy grew 16.1 per cent in the April-June period from a year ago, the central bank said on Friday. Economists had expected the economy to grow by a median estimate of 14.3 per cent in the April-June period, according to a Reuters poll.

The Malaysian economy is projected to expand between 3.0 per cent and 4.0 per cent in 2021, Bank Negara Malaysia said in a statement. It had earlier forecast 2021 growth of 6-7.5 per cent.