The Finance Ministry was expected to meet representatives of Fitch Ratings Agency later yesterday to convince them that Malaysia’s economy is still sustainable and should be viewed positively, said its secretary-general Irwan Serigar.

He said the agency, which currently rates Malaysia A-, had implied a 50 percent likelihood of a downgrade in the country’s credit ratings.

“We hope with initiatives on fiscal consolidation and growth emphasis as well as the launch of our Eleventh Malaysia Plan that allocated a total of RM260 billion for development expenditure, it will give positive indicators to the rating agency,” he said.

He said Malaysia’s economic growth was still good last year, and in the first quarter of this year posted 5.6 percent growth while external trade was  also growing.

But despite concerns over the current balance of payments, it is still positive, he told reporters after officiating the Rice Bowl startup awards organised by New Entrepreneurs Foundation (NEF) in conjunction with the 1Asean Entrepreneur Summit (1AES).

NEF chairperson Ashran Ghazi said online nominations open today and close in mid-August, with between 200 to 300 nominations from all 10 Asean countries expected for the 10 award categories.

The top 30 finalists will be announced on Oct 1 while the winners will be announced in November during the 1AES.

Ashran said the finalists will be awarded startup coaching worth US$15,000 comprising regional media engagements and investor matching sessions, while winners of each category will receive a Rice Bowl trophy.

- Bernama