GEORGE TOWN: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng says the country’s economic uncertainty is due to two factors: the inheritance of bad finances from the previous administration, as well as the escalating trade war between the United States and China.
He said the US-China trade war had affected Malaysia, given its status as an international export and commercial hub.
Despite these factors, Lim said the country’s economy continued to grow, registering a gross domestic product growth rate of 4.5 per cent compared with an earlier predicted rate of 4.1 per cent.
He said to boost the economy and negate the effects of the trade war, banks must loosen up loan restrictions, especially for new small businesses that were growing.
“Financial companies must help businesses by giving them more loans and also make it easier for them to obtain loans,” he said at a buka puasa at Masjid Kampung Bharu in his state constituency of Air Putih today.
“This way, there will be cash flow among businesses so as to liquefy their spending credit.
“The same applies to home loans.
“We urge banks to loosen their loan requirements a little.
“This is the aspiration of the Cabinet to further the continued stabilisation of our healthy economy.”
Lim handed out 100 hampers to the poor and senior citizens in the Air Putih community.
Lim reiterated the government’s unwavering support for Islamic development, citing an additional RM100 million allocation for the purpose.
He said this effectively brought the federal allocation for Islamic affairs to RM1.2 billion this year, compared with RM1.1 billion last year.