Malaysia confident of 6pc growth

Malaysia on Monday said it was confident economic growth for 2008 will hit six percent despite troubles in key trading partner the United States.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said domestic demand, public spending and the services and mining sectors, including the booming petroleum industry, would fuel growth.
"Gross domestic product is on the uptrend. And we strongly feel that the 2008 economic growth forecast of six percent is within our reach," he said.
Najib said that while the central bank had predicted the slower growth forecast in 2008, down from 6.3 percent in 2007 due to a US-led global slowdown, "there is enough capacity ... to grow more than that."
Last week, the central bank said Malaysia's growth is expected to slow to 5.0-6.0 percent in 2008, down from 6.3 percent last year.
Bank Negara said rising prices of fuel, commodities and food will see headline inflation for the year rise to 2.5-3 percent from 2 percent in 2007.
"In 2008, the external environment is expected to deteriorate with the continued unfolding of the financial crisis that has erupted in the United States," central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said.