Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA'S central bank, expressing optimism that the country will stay on a steady growth path through 2017, kept its key interest rate at 3.00 percent on Wednesday, as expected.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said there is sufficient activity to support the economy, even as annual growth slipped to 4 per cent in the second quarter, the slowest in nearly seven years. "Overall, the economy is projected to expand within expectations in 2016, and to remain on a steady growth path in 2017," the central bank said in a statement.