What Investment guru Jim Rogers says about M'sia?

Investment guru Rogers says M'sia can benefit by leveraging from region’s growth

Investment guru and author Jim Rogers is bullish about Malaysia’s economy, if the country is able to leverage off the growth opportunities in South East Asian countries and China.

Rogers said it was no big secret that China was leading the way as the main engine of growth in Asia and if Malaysia was able to identify and provide the products and services the republic required, the country would prosper significantly.

“Malaysia is geographically poised to benefit (economically), being strategically placed in South East Asia, and coupled with its rich natural resources and knowledge workforce, it stands to gain,” he told StarBiz after giving a talk at the CIMB Private Banking Investment Conference 2010 yesterday.

Rogers’ talk was titled Southeast Asia Rides On the Two Booms: Commodities and China.

He said the Malaysian government was sending the right signals in terms of more liberal economic policies to attract greater foreign investors.

Alan Inn (left) and Jim Rogers agree that Malaysia can benefit by working closer with neighbouring countries.

“If the economic policies are implemented and the country is further liberalised, Malaysia could be a rising star in the region, following in the footsteps of prosperity seen in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore,” he said.

On ways to improve Malaysia’s competitiveness, he said that Malaysia should open its capital flow, be transparent, encourage capital markets as well as moderate its exchange controls.

Citing an example, Rogers said foreign investors still recalled Malaysia’s capital control decision 12 years ago.

However, he said, times had changed and the country’s economic development had improved since then and Malaysia was now underinvested.

CIMB head of group private banking products Alan Inn concurred with Rogers that Malaysia could expand business opportunities by working closer with its neighbouring Asean countries and China by providing a more conducive environment to enable business to flourish, especially among entrepreneurs.

Inn cited examples such as tax breaks to encourage more local businessmen to venture into China, starting an agency in China to assist them, and providing yuan-denominated deposits.

Inn also said that to boost the economy, the Government needed to find ways to encourage more skilled Malaysians to return from abroad and to entice more high net worth Malaysians to invest locally.

By DANNY YAP and ANDREW LEE
starbiz@thestar.com.my