| Chairman's Message
Much has happened in Malaysia and around the world in the past two years, and these decisions and events have continued to have an impact on the economy, both at the domestic and global levels, to a greater or lesser degree. Following the intermittent lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, Malaysia entered into Phase 4 of the National Recovery Plan ("NRP") starting from 3 January 2022, with the domestic economy reopening in stages. The NRP was key to economic activities recovering in the beginning despite much domestic political uncertainty.
There was steady recovery throughout 2022, with the Malaysian economy ending the year with a GDP growth of 8.7% year-on-year, exceeding the government's forecast of 6.5% to 7.0% GDP growth. This was also well above the 3.1% GDP growth of 2021. Economic growth was achieved on the back of strong exports rebound and resilient private consumption amid challenges posed by a global economic slowdown and persistent inflation.
As a mechanical and electrical ("M&E") engineering specialist, the Company's outlook is tied to the construction sector. The Bintai Group will continue to seek opportunities in Malaysia and in particular, look to securing projects with recurring income that can sustain earnings. Besides the focus on M&E, the Bintai Group will also evaluate the efficacy of diversifying into other businesses to enhance revenue growth.
The Board of Directors and the management of the Company want to ensure shareholders that all efforts are also being made to uplift Bintai's affected listing status following its classification under Paragraph 2.1(f) of Practice Note 17 ("PN 17") of the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad ("Bursa Securities"). Discussions are ongoing with the Melaka government as well as other parties on how to solve the issues pertaining to payments owed from the Universiti Melaka ("UNIMEL") project, which is the cause of the Company's listing status being classified under PN17.
At the same time, the Company will continue to be prudent in managing its assets and leverage on core competencies to deliver sustainable growth while enhancing our brand as a contractor of choice.