FINANCE Ministry secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican said Malaysia and other developing nations were concerned about the protracted tight monetary policy in the West, which has adversely impacted emerging economies.

“At the global level there is still persistent inflation, which translates to the West having a tight monetary policy, which emerging economies such as Malaysia and Indonesia have highlighted.”

“As large developed nations continue to maintain tight monetary policy for a longer period of time, it obviously has an impact on the growth outlook for countries like Malaysia,” he told Bernama after representing Malaysia at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Finance Ministers’ Meeting in San Francisco.

“Escalating conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East pose a major downside for global growth, inflation and supply chains,” he said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted global inflation to reach 6.5% this year and 4.1% by 2024.

“The (meeting) also highlighted the need to minimise supply chain disruption which would help tackle inflation.

“There were broad affirmations of the importance of having a multilateral platform like Apec to maintain the free flow of trade and investments, which would help minimise risk associated with supply chain disruptions,” he said.

“We also highlighted some priorities and targets under the Madani Economy, among which were increasing the labour share of income to over 40% and increasing the female participation in the labour force to 60%.”

He said many Apec members were giving similar attention to facilitating women’s participation in the workforce, citing Canada’s focus on lowering childcare costs.

“Like the Philippines and Singapore, in Budget 2024, Malaysia announced its own incentives for childcare to encourage women to return to work. It seems to be a common area of emphasis for Apec members,” he said. – Bernama, November 16, 2023.