Most are aware that Norway represents a model oil-producing nation with its immense sovereign wealth fund. It also scores extremely high in terms of per capita income and general happiness. So when prices of oil started to fall, their government decided to be on “alert” and started making economic preparations.
This is what the Norwegian PM said: Prime Minister Erna Solberg said the government is now “on alert” to respond to the rout. “If the economic situation requires it, we can react quickly,” Read more in the Bloomberg below:
What about Malaysia? It appears that the government is still taking it easy. It’s still on “Tidak apa” strategy. Instead of preparing, it is still going to town saying that they will meet the 3% deficit target. I wrote on December 16th that the government need to activate an emergency economic team and produce a plan. Today, I reiterate the call for action.