MALAYSIAN 1987 ECONOMIC GROWTH SEEN ABOVE FORECAST

  The Development Bank of Singapore Ltd
  (DBS) said Malaysia's real gross domestic product growth (gdp)
  in 1987 could be 1.5 to two pct, above a budget target of one
  pct.
      It said in a report that because of an economic recovery
  and higher foreign exchange reserves, the Malaysian ringgit is
  unlikely to face devaluation in the near future.
      The report was presented at a two-day investment conference
  organised by the DBS, one of Singapore's four major banks.
      The report said rising commodity prices and the continued
  expansion of the manufacturing sector coupled with rigorous
  fiscal restraints and a more stable currency are grounds for
  cautious optimism about the Malaysian economy.
      It forecast the ringgit will remain stable at between 2.60
  and 2.70 Malaysian dlrs to the U.S. Dollar for the rest of the
  year.
      But the report said the growth rate of Malaysia's external
  debt remains worrying and should be controlled. It said
  Malaysia's external debt totals 48 to 49 billion Malaysian dlrs
  and its debt service ratio exceeds 20 pct.
  

