M;sia Has Legal Framework to Safeguard Manufactures

MITI: M'sia Has Legal Framework To Safeguard Manufacturers

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has the legal and regulatory framework to safeguard local manufacturers in the face of unfair trade practices that may arise as a result of the current global economic and financial crisis, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said.I

ts Secretary General Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Mamat, assured manufacturers that MITI was monitoring Malaysia's trade data and was in regular consultation with industry to ensure that local manufacturers were not disadvantaged by the influx of imports which might be artificially cheap.

In a statement, MITI said the Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Act 1993 and Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Regulation 1994, which were in compliance with Malaysia's obligations under the World Trade Organisation (WTO), provide Malaysia with the mechanism to take action against foreign manufacturers and exporters who were found to have dumped their products in the domestic market, thereby causing injury to local manufacturers.

Local manufacturers could ask the government to institute anti-dumping action when the price of an imported product was lower than the price sold in its domestic market, the ministry said.

To date, Malaysia has initiated 14 anti-dumping cases against 72 foreign companies in 13 countries, MITI said.Anti-dumping duties have been imposed by Malaysia on imports of newsprint from Canada, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines and theUnited States; maleic anhydride from Taiwan, Indonesia and South Korea; and polyethylene terephthalate from Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand.

"In addition to instituting anti-dumping measures, which is price-based, local manufacturers who are seriously injured by a sudden surge of imports, can also petition the Government to institute safeguards measure under the Safeguards Act 2006 and Safeguards Regulation 2007," said Abdul Rahman.

He said MITI was also on guard to ensure that Malaysian exporters were able to compete fairly and not be subjected to protectionist measures by importing countries.

This was done mainly through the country's bilateral, regional and multilateral engagements with its trading partners, he added.In addition, the government was strengthening the implementation and enforcement of mandatory Malaysian standards for a range of manufactured products, said MITI.

As of Nov 30, 2008, a total of 5,444 Malaysian Standards (MS) have been developed, and of these, 3,160 are aligned with international standards while 173 standards have been made mandatory, it added.-- BERNAMA

Malaysia's expects wider deficit

Jan 29, 2009
M'sia expects wider deficit

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S budget deficit will exceed the official forecast of 4.8 per cent of gross domestic product this year because of a new stimulus package to prop up growth, the finance minister said on Thursday.

The government will raise its fiscal deficit projection when it introduces the stimulus package soon and hopes to ensure the shortfall is not 'too high,' Finance Minister Najib Razak was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama.

Economists expect the government to announce details of a second stimulus package worth up to 10 billion ringgit (S$4.18 billion). The government had said in November it would inject 7 billion ringgit into the economy this year to boost spending.

Mr Najib said more than 70 per cent of the 7 billion ringgit has been disbursed, largely toward construction and development projects involving low-cost homes, schools and other infrastructure.

The government expects 2009 economic growth to drop to 3.5 percent, from 5 percent last year. But most analysts say this forecast is too ambitious. -- AP

Economic Crisis Hits Exports

Economic Crisis Hits Exports
World trade is expected to decrease by 2 percent this year as demand collapses. : 15 January 2009

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Shipping containers on a dock at Port Elizabeth, New JerseyThe economic crisis is claiming another victim: world trade. Last month the World Bank predicted a two percent decrease this year -- the largest drop since the nineteen forties.

Economies that depend on exports for growth have been hit hard. Japanese exports decreased almost twenty-seven percent in November from a year earlier. Japan has the world's second largest economy.

A new report this week from China showed that its economy became the world's third largest in two thousand seven, passing Germany. China could also pass Germany as the world's biggest exporter. But Chinese exports fell almost three percent in December from a year earlier -- the sharpest drop in at least ten years.

A story in the Chinese news magazine Outlook warned that factory closings could lead to unrest as the economy slows.

The latest reports show that German exports in November were down almost twelve percent from the year before.

American exports decreased almost two percent in November from a year earlier. They were down six percent from October -- but imports were down twelve percent. That reduced the monthly trade deficit to the lowest level in five years.

Credit has improved in some cases since the financial crisis worsened in September. But falling demand, including reduced demand for oil, has cut trade around the world. The International Monetary Fund recently called for government spending, tax cuts and international cooperation to support growth.

To ease credit, the Bank of England last week reduced its main interest rate to one and one-half percent -- its lowest ever. The bank was established in sixteen ninety-four. Britain's economy may have shrunk by one percent just in the final three months of last year. The first estimates are expected at the end of January.

This week, Germany's coalition government agreed to an economic aid package worth about sixty-seven billion dollars. The two-year plan calls for spending on public works and a tax cut for low-income Germans. Critics considered an earlier measure too small to fight the recession in Europe's largest economy.

Aides to President-elect Barack Obama have been negotiating with Congress on a two-year recovery plan for the world's largest economy. On Wednesday, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York suggested that the price could reach eight hundred fifty billion dollars.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

MIER sees RM7b-RM10b

MIER sees RM7b-RM10b package by June

By Rupa Damodaranrupabanerji@nstp.com.my

THE Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) expects the government to launch a second stimulus package of RM7 billion to RM10 billion by the middle of the year to help boost the economy.

The first stimulus package of RM7 billion was announced in November last year.MIER executive director Professor Datuk Dr Mohamed Ariff Abdul Kareem said that a second package could see the economy growing an additional 1-2 per cent.

Even if the two packages leave the fiscal deficit for 2009 at 5.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), it is "not unmanageable", he added."But jobs are not growing as fast (as the stimulus package) and that is what the government should focus on to prevent any negative growth," Mohamed Ariff told a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 4.5 per cent this year even with pump-priming efforts by the government, he said."With lower commodity prices, the rural community will also be affected this time around, unlike in the previous crisis in the 1990s.

"The number of retrenched workers increased from 2,397 in the first quarter of last year to 11,561 in the third quarter, with the manufacturing sector reporting the highest number of lay-offs.

Mohamed Ariff said that Malaysia's growth this year would likely take a hit from the knock-on effects of worsening and uncertain external conditions, while domestic demand could be propped up through fiscal pump-priming and easier monetary policy.

MIER has revised downwards its GDP forecast for last year to 5.1 per cent, from 5.5 per cent previously, and for this year, to 1.3 per cent from 3.4 per cent, below the official growth forecast of 3.5 per cent.

Provided the global economy bottoms out, it is also looking to a marginal improvement for Malaysia's growth to 3.8 per cent in 2010.

Mohamed Ariff also said that a growth trajectory for Malaysia was expected to take place only in 2011.

Malaysia has no direct exposure to the US market, but is increasingly feeling the shock of the slowing global economy through trade and investment linkages, and monthly indicators up to November are losing momentum markedly.

Mohamed Ariff expects Bank Negara Malaysia to reduce its key Overnight Policy Rate by another 50 basis points to 2.75 per cent by June to avoid placing the ringgit at risk.

He said the ringgit was still undervalued and had probably hit bottom.He expects the ringgit to strengthen to 3.30 against US$1 by the year-end.

Economists: Malaysia Nov export numbers won't impress

By Rupa Damodaranrupabanerji@nstp.com.my

MALAYSIAN exports in November are expected to falter further with the deepening global crisis, as exports to major markets across the globe soften significantly.According to a Business Times poll, economists expect exports to contract by an average of 6.46 per cent year-on-year from a 2.6 per cent decline in October, imports to decline by 4.6 per cent year-on-year and trade balance to average RM8.82 billion.

The International Trade and Industry Ministry will release the data tomorrow. DBS Bank economist Irvin Seah said the drastic plunge in commodity prices has taken the "wind out of the sail" for Malaysia's export performance."The support from commodity prices has dissipated and the drag from the depressed global demand is beginning to show.

"Given the dire global economic conditions, consumers and businesses have cut back on their expenditure and that will surely weigh on the growth outlook for Malaysia's export-oriented sectors and on a broader basis, the whole economy," he added.He expects the gross domestic product growth for this year to soften further to 3.3 per cent from 5.5 per cent in 2008, while the manufacturing sector will contract by 1.9 per cent in 2009, from a 3.4 per cent in 2008.Malaysia will join the list of Asian countries with exceptionally poor export data in November, remarked Gundy Cahyadi of IDEAglobal.

"We expect this poor export performance to sustain for the best part of the first half. It is also a concern that demand within Asia has apparently moderated, and further shrinkage in exports would only add pressure to the government to react decisively on the economy," he said.Patricia Oh, from TA Enterprise, said the deterioration in the ringgit against the US dollar (which averaged at RM3.618 per US$ for November) was supposed to create favourable terms of trade.

"However, the sluggish worldwide demand for goods and services has offset the overall preferable exports position for Malaysia," she added.Oh said the electrical and electronics component would drive exports downward as electrical and electronics (E&E) manufacturing companies unanimously expect weaker orders.

"Not only does the exchange rate make imported products expensive for Malaysians, but imports of intermediate and capital goods could have dampened as manufacturing orders likely declined following the generally weak product market both locally and internationally," she added.

Economists: Malaysia Nov export numbers won't impress

By Rupa Damodaranrupabanerji@nstp.com.my

MALAYSIAN exports in November are expected to falter further with the deepening global crisis, as exports to major markets across the globe soften significantly.

According to a Business Times poll, economists expect exports to contract by an average of 6.46 per cent year-on-year from a 2.6 per cent decline in October, imports to decline by 4.6 per cent year-on-year and trade balance to average RM8.82 billion.

The International Trade and Industry Ministry will release the data tomorrow. DBS Bank economist Irvin Seah said the drastic plunge in commodity prices has taken the "wind out of the sail" for Malaysia's export performance.

"The support from commodity prices has dissipated and the drag from the depressed global demand is beginning to show. "Given the dire global economic conditions, consumers and businesses have cut back on their expenditure and that will surely weigh on the growth outlook for Malaysia's export-oriented sectors and on a broader basis, the whole economy," he added.

He expects the gross domestic product growth for this year to soften further to 3.3 per cent from 5.5 per cent in 2008, while the manufacturing sector will contract by 1.9 per cent in 2009, from a 3.4 per cent in 2008.

Malaysia will join the list of Asian countries with exceptionally poor export data in November, remarked Gundy Cahyadi of IDEAglobal."We expect this poor export performance to sustain for the best part of the first half. It is also a concern that demand within Asia has apparently moderated, and further shrinkage in exports would only add pressure to the government to react decisively on the economy," he said.

Patricia Oh, from TA Enterprise, said the deterioration in the ringgit against the US dollar (which averaged at RM3.618 per US$ for November) was supposed to create favourable terms of trade. "However, the sluggish worldwide demand for goods and services has offset the overall preferable exports position for Malaysia," she added.

Oh said the electrical and electronics component would drive exports downward as electrical and electronics (E&E) manufacturing companies unanimously expect weaker orders.

"Not only does the exchange rate make imported products expensive for Malaysians, but imports of intermediate and capital goods could have dampened as manufacturing orders likely declined following the generally weak product market both locally and internationally," she added.