PETALING JAYA: Asset price inflation, which is posing a threat in some Western economies, is unlikely to rear its ugly head in Malaysia amid the country’s low interest rates and massive stimulus packages.
Even as the central bank has kept key benchmark interest rate at 1.75% for some time, coupled with a cumulative fiscal stimulus of RM380bil since last year, economists agree that asset-price inflation risk is lower, thanks to the preemptive macro-prudential measures and responsible bank lending practices introduced in late 2010, following the 2008-2009 US subprime crisis.