CIMB: Stimulus measures well balanced

KUALA LUMPUR: The economic stimulus measures announced by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday are well balanced between the need to support the local equity market and real economic activities, said CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.
“The measures outlined are well-balanced between supporting the financial market with the RM20 billion capital injection into ValueCap to buy undervalued shares and measures to support real economic activities, for example incentives for manufacturers, the SMEs and tourism activities,” said CIMB group chief executive Tengku Datuk Zafrul Aziz in a statement.
The country’s economic growth is already envisaged to be well above the lower end of the official target of 4.5% for this year even with the headwinds emanating from low commodity prices, sharp weakening in ringgit, China’s economic slowdown and the uncertainties on the global front.
“Hence, we are confident that if all the measures announced are executed well, growth could actually be closer to the upper end of the official target of 5.5% although there may be some time lag before we can see the full positive effects working through the financial and capital markets and in turn, the real economy,” Zafrul said.
He also welcomed the government’s continuous commitment in consolidating its fiscal account and efforts to contain the deficit target of 3.2% of GDP for this year
Zafrul said they also look forward to more constructive measures to be announced in Budget 2016 to bolster economic growth.