PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will become a high-income country from 2027 onwards if the national economy grows four to five per cent every year and the ringgit strengthens to around RM4.20 against the US dollar, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said.
He said if these targets can be achieved and Malaysia will be seen as a country with potential, which will indirectly allow it to become an ‘Asian Tiger’ again.
“This standard is a simpler standard (to qualify Malaysia for that status). It also depends on our ability to become an international financial hub in addition to the positive performance of Bursa Malaysia,“ he told the media after the launch of the 2024 Economic Census Findings by the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
Previously, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan was reported to have said that Malaysia is making significant progress to regain its Asian Tiger status.
This is based on a positive outlook from analysts and rating agencies, supported by encouraging national economic figures.
When asked about the timeline for Malaysia to reach the target, Rafizi said it would be detailed in the 13th Malaysia Plan.
Rafizi also said Malaysia’s prospect as an Asian Tiger also needs to be based on the country’s availability in future economic sectors, including in terms of the sustainability of the country’s energy sector as well as data centre growth.
“To be a ‘Tiger’ we need to focus on high-value sectors such as chip creation and design… but if you look at the company census, companies that design chips can still be counted on the fingers.
“So that allows us as government to ensure that the policies and programmes for the next five years focus on these sectors but the development from the private sector does not match the plans of our (then) government,“ he said.
Rafizi also stressed that the function of the census is important and that it becomes a yardstick for the government to formulate targets that will be included in the 13th Malaysia Plan.
Commenting on the 2023 Economic Census report, chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said based on the report, the number of establishments in Malaysia increased by 2.5 per cent with a gross output value of RM3.85 trillion in 2022.
A total of 951,862 establishments or 87.2 per cent are concentrated in the service sector; followed by the construction sector (71,062 establishments; 6.5 per cent); and the manufacturing sector (54,505 establishments; 5.0 per cent).
Meanwhile, the agriculture and mining and quarrying sectors both contributed the rest, with 12,998 establishments (contribution: 1.2 per cent) and 1,440 (contribution: 0.1 per cent) respectively.
The value of gross output for the entire economic sector amounts to RM3.85 trillion in 2022, increasing 6.4 per cent every year.
Mohd Uzir also said the 2023 Economic Census has revealed some important findings that show a dynamic economic transition in seven years.
This is in line with Malaysia’s trade performance which showed strong export growth during this period, with an annual growth rate of 10.4 per cent to RM1.55 trillion in 2022 (2015: RM777.5 billion).
The economic census is held every five years and the last census was done in 2015. It cannot be done in 2020 due to COVID-19 and could only be done in 2023.
