KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — The government is maintaining its projection of 4.7 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2019 despite the weaker third-quarter (Q3) performance and external headwinds, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

He said the annual growth would be supported by expansion in the fourth quarter (Q4), usually the strongest quarter of the year.

"Several factors dampened the growth in Q3, following the (United States-China) trade war that impacted the country’s economy. 

"The government is confident that the growth will be better in Q4... Maintain the 4.7 per cent forecast,” he told reporters after launching the Securities Commission Malaysia’s Sustainable and Responsible Investment Roadmap for the Malaysian Capital Market.

On November 15, Bank Negara Malaysia announced that Malaysia’s GDP grew by 4.4 per cent in Q3 2019, slower than the 4.9 per cent growth recorded in the second quarter.

The economy registered an average growth of 4.6 per cent in the first nine months of this year. — Bernama