KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 — Bank Negara Malaysia is confident that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth this year would exceed the 5.0 per cent to 5.5 per cent forecast following the bullish first half-year performance.

“For the first half of the year, we have already got 6.3 per cent, so it is definitely going to exceed the original forecast of 5.0 to 5.5 per cent.

“That’s why we are going to leave it at that for the moment,” Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz told reporters after launching the Financial Services Professional Board here today.

She was responding to the recent announcement by Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah on the upward revision of the country’s GDP forecast to between 5.5 per cent and 6.0 per cent

On the overnight policy rate (OPR), Zeti said the central bank would closely monitor the country’s growth as well as inflation, and these two factors would be taken into account before any revision on the interest rate.

“It is not just as straightforward as that, because we will look at the source of the growth and inflation adjustments.

“If they are viewed to be of a permanent nature or whether it’s transitory and temporary, this would have implications on our decision (on the OPR)

“We will also look at the risk of any destabilising financial imbalances, and these are the factors that will be taken into consideration,” she said.

The OPR was raised to 3.25 per cent from 3.0 per cent on July 10.

FSPB is the first infustry-led body focused on developing and advocating professionalism and ethics accross all sectors of the financial services industry namely banking, capital markets, insurance and Islamic finance.

It was nitiated by the central bank, the Securities Commission of Malaysia and the financial services industry.

The FSPB’s Board members are global leaders, led by AmBank Group Non-Executive Chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim.

Also present at the event was Securities Commission Chairman Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh. — Bernama