[Editorial note: The Prime Minister’s Office has since clarified that there has been a mistake in the text of the speech delivered by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, saying the correct figure is 4.8%]

Up until last December, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had maintained Malaysia’s GDP growth target of 4.8% despite a downward revision by the World Bank to 4.5%.

Speaking at a dialogue with the French business community in Cyberjaya today, Mahathir said Malaysia is forecasting a 4.5% growth target despite challenging times.

“With good fiscal discipline, our budget deficit will narrow to 3.2% this year. We are committed to provide a stable business environment for investors.

“We will be business friendly. In fact, we will revive our Malaysia Incorporated policy, which means close cooperation between the government and the private sector,” he said at the event organised by the Malaysian French Chamber of Commerce.

Mahathir said Malaysia was now ranked 12th in the World Bank 2020 ease of doing business report, moving three notches up from last year.

“Moving forward, we will continue to embrace the 5Cs of doing business – clarity, consistency, certainty, confidence and continuity,” he said.

The prime minister also said the government was committed to developing the right talent needed for the 21st century and remained “very generous” with various employment and resident passes for high-skilled and specialised foreign talent.

“We also welcome a very significant number of foreign students every year. We will listen to your views on the kind of workers you want us to produce,” he added.