REALLY, JOHARI? DON’T WORRY, INVESTORS WILL RETURN ONCE RINGGIT SETTLES DOWN – MINISTER

Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani has reassured that investors will return to Malaysia when there is greater certainty in the economic conditions abroad.

He said Malaysia’s strong economic fundamentals such as its diversified economy mean that investors would have little choice but to consider investing in Malaysia.

“Our policy is open economy. When we have an open economy, we are not going to do any pegging. We will not control our capital flows. We will allow if any investor wants to take their money out, they can just take.

“We still have foreign reserves of US$94 billion, which can sustain us for eight months of imports, so I think we are quite okay.

“Slowly, I think, we will see that once the noise out there has settled down – once the US has settled down and interest rates are very definitive – I think people will come back,” he told reporters at the sidelines of the International Fund Forum 2017 today.

Johari had earlier officiated the fund managers’ forum at the Securities Commission’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, and launched the Malaysia Islamic Fund and Wealth Management Blueprint.

He told reporters that Malaysia’s diversified economy has reduced its dependence on oil and gas industries, although the slump in oil prices still impacted Malaysia’s economy.

He said the diversification, alongside with the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) and the move from broad subsidies to target subsidies, mean that Malaysia is suffering less than some other countries such as Saudi Arabia.

“I think with these solid fundamentals, we can send a very positive note out there.

“I don’t think they (investors) have much options out there, other than looking at our country,” he said, without specifying which region he was referring to.

MKINI