ADB lowers Malaysia's GDP growth amid heightened global uncertainties

KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lowered Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast due to a weakening outlook for trade and investment amid heightened global uncertainties.

The ADB said in its report on Wednesday that it has revised down the growth forecasts to 4.3 percent in 2025 and 4.2 percent in 2026, from 4.9 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively.

"Despite strong first-quarter growth, concerns over U.S. tariffs have dampened export and investment prospects," said the bank.

It also noted that while the country's foreign-approved investments rose in the first quarter, domestic investment fell 27.4 percent to 29.3 billion ringgit (6.93 billion U.S. dollars).

Nonetheless, it highlighted that household spending indicators remained positive, and the unemployment rate dropped to 3 percent in May, from 3.1 percent in January, signaling continued resilience in the labor market.

Overall, the bank said in the report that economic forecasts for Southeast Asia have been downgraded for 2025 and 2026 due to the continuing global growth slowdown and increased trade uncertainty. Enditem