11.10.201907:48:00UTC+00Malaysia Lowers 2020 Fiscal Deficit Forecast

Malaysia's government lowered its fiscal deficit target for next year in the Budget 2020 unveiled on Friday.

In the latest budget announcement, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the fiscal deficit is forecast to narrow to 3.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2020 from 3.4 percent projected for this year.

However, the outlook for 2020 was slightly bigger than the initially projected 3 percent.

The economy is forecast to grow in the range of 4.5-5 percent over 2020-2022.

The government plans an annual expenditure of MYR 297 billion for 2020 and a revenue of MYR 244.5 billion. Both spending and revenue were lower than the 2019 planned figures.