Lavanya Venkateswaran, ASEAN senior economist at OCBC Bank, said that after the economy grew faster than preliminary estimates in the first quarter, Malaysia's GDP growth rate could reach 4.2% this year. Factors likely to drive growth include: the global electronics downturn is likely to bottom out in the first half of this year, increased investment spending is in line with the government's medium-term economic development agenda, and strong household spending. Given strong growth prospects and a solid external balance under low inflationary pressure, Bank Malaysia will maintain its policy interest rate throughout 2024. The timing and mechanism of plans to cut fuel subsidies is a key risk to economic growth.