Zafrul: Malaysia confident of positive growth and avoiding recession in 2023 despite global headwinds

Malaysia is confident of achieving positive growth and avoiding a recession this year despite having to navigate through global headwinds.

尽管必须应对全球逆风，但马来西亚有信心今年实现正增长并避免衰退。

Even though the country’s economic growth this year is projected to moderate compared with 2022, International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said he was optimistic that Malaysia would not face a recession.

尽管与 2022 年相比，该国今年的经济增长预计将放缓，但国际贸易和工业部长Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz表示，他对马来西亚不会面临衰退持乐观态度。

“On the issue of recession, I am optimistic there will not be one… the definition of a recession is two successive quarters of negative GDP (gross domestic product) growth.

“在经济衰退问题上，我乐观地认为不会 ......经济衰退的定义是连续两个季度 GDP（国内生产总值）负增长。

“Bank Negara Malaysia, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank have projected for Malaysia to continue achieving positive economic growth in the 3% to 5% range.

“马来西亚中央银行、国际货币基金组织和世界银行预计，马来西亚将继续实现 3% 至 5% 的正经济增长。

“I do not think we are going to face a recession. However, compared with the growth we achieved in 2022, there will be some moderation.

“我认为我们不会面临经济衰退。但是，与我们在 2022 年实现的增长相比，会有一些放缓。

“Therefore we need to take this opportunity to ensure all of our engines of growth keep firing, especially in terms of trade and investment,” he told Bernama during his recent visit to Penang.

“因此，我们需要借此机会确保我们所有的增长引擎继续燃烧，尤其是在贸易和投资方面，”他在最近访问槟城时告诉马新社。

In 2022, Malaysia’s total trade surpassed the RM2 trillion mark for the second consecutive year when it registered RM2.8 trillion, with exports reaching RM1.6 trillion, exceeding 12th Malaysia Plan projections, and imports reaching nearly RM1.3 trillion.

2022年，马来西亚的贸易总额连续第二年超过2万亿令吉大关，达到2.8万亿令吉，其中出口达到1.6万亿令吉，超过第十二大马计划的预测，进口达到近1.3万亿令吉。

During his two-day (3rd-4th February) visit to Penang, Tengku Zafrul said he held meetings with top state officials and industry players to discuss efforts to strengthen the industrial ecosystem here as it is one of the leading investment destinations for the electrical and electronics (E&E) and medical technology sectors.

Tengku Zafrul 在他为期两天（2 月 3 日至 4 日）访问槟城期间表示，他与州高级官员和业届人士会面，讨论加强槟城的工业生态系统，因为它是电气和电子（E&E）和医疗技术行业领域的主要投资目的地之一。

“We need to attract high quality investment that can provide jobs to our people and increase the national income. We also want this FDI (foreign direct investment) to be translated into DDI (domestic direct investment).

“我们需要吸引高质量的投资，为我们的人民提供就业机会，增加国民收入。我们还希望将此 FDI（外国直接投资）转化为 DDI（国内直接投资）。

“If possible, we want to develop small and medium enterprises that can provide services and become suppliers to multinational corporations operating here.

“如果可能的话，我们希望发展可以提供服务的中小企业，并成为在这里经营的跨国公司的供应商。

“Penang is the best example for this where there are multinational companies that work together with small companies until these companies are able to grow and be listed on the stock exchange,” he said.

“槟城是最好的例子，跨国公司与小公司合作，直到这些公司能够成长并在证券交易所上市，”他说。