MALAYSIA TO SEE A SLOWDOWN BUT NOT A RECESSION, SAYS BANKER

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will only experience a slowdown from a secondary effect from the financial meltdown in the United States and Europe and not a recession, CIMB Group chief executive Nazir Razak said Tuesday.

"I don't think Malaysia will go into a recession. I think the impact of a
recession and significant slowdown in the west will have an impact on the level
economic growth (in Malaysia)," he said.

CIMB Economic Research, he said has forecast a significant drop in its 2009
gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast.

"And this is very logical as Malaysia is a very open economy and we have a
lot of exports to the west and through that we will be affected in terms of GDP
growth."

However, the question of quantum depend on the full outcome of this
financial crisis and economic growth in the west, he told reporters when met on
the sideline of the launch of Malaysia Debt Ventures Bhd's Second Fund here
Tuesday.

Some Malaysian exporters are already feeling the pinch, said Nazir,
adding that, "the impact is fairly immediate but secondary. You don't see the
transmission via the financial market (but) it is more in terms of
exports."

He also said that the Islamic financial industry could be the
beneficiary of the current crisis in the conventional financial market.

"I think the outcome of this crisis will be a very interesting shift in
economic power from the West to the East and the Middle East."