This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 2, 2020 - March 8, 2020

MALAYSIA has allocated RM20 billion to stimulate its economy amid the Covid-19 outbreak, which is lower than Hong Kong’s HK$120 billion (RM54.12 billion). Meanwhile, Singapore has allocated S$6.4 billion (RM19.4 billion).

AffinHwang Investment Bank chief economist Alan Tan says it is understandable that Hong Kong provided a larger allocation as it had been badly affected during the 2002/2003 SARS outbreak.

“Singapore and Hong Kong both posted a quarter of negative growth during the SARS outbreak. In Malaysia, we were impacted, but our GDP growth was still above 4%. Based on its experience with SARS, it is understandable that Hong Kong announced a larger fiscal stimulus.

“However, assuming that this outbreak continues beyond one quarter, we think there could be some additional stimulus from the government. So this RM20 billion allocation could be a start to ensure that the economy continues to hold up and counter the negative effects of the virus outbreak,” he tells The Edge.

We take a look at what the respective fiscal stimulus packages of Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong have to offer.  

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