KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) group president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Farid Alias said on Thursday (April 14, 2022) that while Maybank's economic forecast for Malaysia has taken into account the impact of the country's Covid-19 endemic transition since April 1, 2022 from pandemic status, the only event that has not been factored into Maybank's forecast is the Russia-Ukraine war, which will have an impact on the global economy. "This is because Europe is a major investor and trade partner for ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and Malaysia. The secondary impact might be relatively significant but it depends on how things will evolve over time," Abdul Farid said. He said that the Malaysian economic outlook that Maybank gave earlier this year on the country's gross domestic product (GDP), inflation and interest rate had taken into account that the Covid-19 pandemic would become endemic in Malaysia at this point in time. "We are on target when it comes to the current progress [of the economy] that by April [2022] with regard to the borders that will be reopened and more activities will be permissible outside compared to before.

Source: The Edge Markets April 14, 2022 22:32 UTC