Amid any gloom, there shall be light at the end of the tunnel, any wise economist would advocate. Come 2010, ASEAN economies is expected to rebound faster than the rest of the world with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting regional ASEAN economies to achieve a 4.1% growth (2009: projected 2.7%) in stark comparison with 1.6% for the United States (2009: projected -1.6%) and 0.2% for the Euro area (2009: projected -2.0%).

Lessons learnt from the 1997/1998 Asian Financial downturn has enabled the Malaysian Government to successfully put in place key strategies aimed at insulating the country’s economy from plummeting global output and trade. On its part, the Government has spearheaded various pump-priming measures to restore the health of Malaysia’s economy, including the launching of two stimulus packages valued at RM67 billion (US$18 billion) to boost economic growth.

On a long-term perspective, the Third Industrial Master Plan (IMP3) – a 15-year blueprint for industrial development in Malaysia – projects the economy to grow an average 6.3% per annum during the entire IMP3 period (2006-2020) after having expanded an average of 4.6% per annum from 1996-2005.

Key strategic thrusts identified include the undertaking of higher value-added activities, enhancing total factor productivity, venturing into new growth areas, emphasis on research and development (R&D), and the integration of Malaysian industries and services into the regional and global networks. Elsewhere, IMP3 is poised to ride on the up-cycle of economic growth in Asia and other emerging markets – most notably China and India.

Even before the outbreak of the economic crisis, Malaysia’s trade and industry had been experiencing robust performance. Global exports had been expanding at an average annual rate of 10.8% since 2004. In terms of value, Malaysia’s exports grew by 9.6% to RM605.1 billion in 2008.

Data for 2008 also indicated that Malaysia continues to be an attractive investment destination for high-value added and capital-intensive manufacturing projects. Approved investments shot up to an all-time high of RM62.8 billion in 2008, exceeding the average annual investment target of RM27.5 billion set under IMP3.