KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 — Malaysia’s economic outlook for 2024 and beyond is increasingly positive as the country emerges as a beacon of growth and resilience in South-east Asia, bolstered by its Asean Chairmanship in 2025.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said strong gross domestic product (GDP) growth, policy stability, and rising foreign direct investment (FDI) have rekindled global interest in Malaysia’s capital markets and positioned the country as one of the leading investment destinations in the region.

Malaysia’s GDP growth forecasts have been revised upward and are likely to exceed 5.0 per cent in 2024, with a further robust growth of 4.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent expected in 2025.

In 2024, Malaysian equities also broke years of regression, buoyed by a string of upgrades from leading global research firms.

Malaysia also led Asean in initial public offering (IPO) activities, closing the year as one of Southeast Asia’s best-performing benchmark indices.

In his address to an esteemed group of investors in London, United Kingdom, Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said the government has dedicated the past two years to improving governance, enhancing transparency, and intensifying anti-corruption efforts.

At the same time, comprehensive fiscal reforms have been implemented, with a focus on gradually reducing the fiscal deficit while ensuring long-term stability.

"To this end, my administration has dedicated the past two years to strengthening governance by enhancing transparency and intensifying anti-corruption efforts,” he said.

The prime minister said the government has also pursued comprehensive fiscal reforms, with a strong commitment to gradually and sustainably reducing the fiscal deficit while reinforcing fiscal responsibility to ensure long-term economic resilience and stability.

This, in turn, is underpinned by Malaysia’s forward-looking policy roadmaps, including the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030, National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR), and National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS), Anwar said.

He said these policies are bolstering Malaysia’s role in the global semiconductor value chain and helping us to support the surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI), data, and computing power across Asia.

Hence, Anwar said Malaysia is committed to building on these strong foundations in the year ahead and aims to attract high-quality investments that advance economic complexity, accelerate progress toward net-zero goals, safeguard economic security, and drive technology adoption.

He added that all these offer immense potential for investors. — Bernama