http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/27/business/6738411&sec=business
Nazir: FDI drop needs careful study
KUALA LUMPUR: The 2009 plunge in Malaysia’s foreign direct
investment (FDI) needs to be studied carefully before jumping to
conclusions, says CIMB Group Holdings Bhd chief executive officer
Datuk Seri Nazir Razak.
“It doesn’t mean that lower net investment flow is necessarily
bad.
“We need to look at the quality of the investments and look at
the facts in terms of the timing of investments,” he told reporters
yesterday after the group’s EGM.
Nazir was asked to comment on a recent United Nations’ The
World Foreign Investment Report 2010 that said FDI in Malaysia
plunged 81% in 2009, trailing behind countries like Philippines,
Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
Citing CIMB and Malayan Banking Bhd’s (Maybank) big investments
into Indonesia as possible factors that contributed to lower FDI
figures so far this year, Nazir said: “Is this bad or not?
“It is a good thing because, in the long term, it is beneficial
for Malaysia that Maybank invests and earns returns from
Indonesia,” he said.
He added Malaysians should not jump and get over-excited about
this investment data. - The Star 27/07/10