KUALA LUMPUR: The effects of the recently announced salary increments for civil servants will be reflected in Malaysia's growth projections for 2025, according to Bank Negara Malaysia governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour.
"Given that the salary increments will only take effect in December, the impact on economic growth will only be observed in next year's projections," Abdul Rasheed told a press conference on the second quarter of 2024 (Q2 2024) gross domestic product (GDP) here today.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced on Friday a 15 per cent salary adjustment for civil servants in the implementing, management and professional groups, and a 7.0 per cent increase for those in the top management group.
The adjustment follows a comprehensive salary review under the new Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA).
On the Qualified Resident Investor (QRI) programme, Abdul Rasheed said the outcomes of the pilot programme were encouraging with more than US$1 billion additional inflows entering the domestic foreign exchange market.
He said these additional flows helped to provide support to the ringgit's performance, contributing to its recovery.
"In light of this, we are pleased to announce that from now until Dec 31 2024, this pilot QRI programme will be expanded to accept applications from eligible resident corporates with outstanding direct investment abroad (DIA) assets of RM1 billion and above.
"Further information about this programme can be found on Bank Negara's website," he added.
In April 2024, Bank Negara rolled out the QRI programme to reduce frictions for corporates who repatriate and convert foreign currency funds from overseas investments and seek to re-invest abroad when the time comes. This is to ensure two-way flows in the FX market.