Foreign Investors Buys US$1.41 Bln Domestic Stocks In Q1, Says Malaysian PM

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 (Bernama) -- Foreign investors purchased US$1.41 billion (RM5.5 billion) worth of domestic stocks in the first quarter of this year, said Prime Minister Najib Razak. (US$1 = RM3.89) This is a testament to the resilient, sustainable and inclusive economy that the government has built through the implementation of a long-term economic plan. "So, it is clear that we have an economic plan, that has worked, and that it is still working. It is a long-term plan that works for the benefit of Malaysians not just today, but tomorrow, and in the years and decades to come," he said at Invest Malaysia 2016 here Tuesday. As an example, he said the government has halved the country's dependency on oil and gas from 41.3 per cent of total revenue in 2009 to 21.5 per cent last year. He said the move was made taking into consideration that the government would lose US$115.66 million (RM450 million) in revenue for every single US dollar drop in the price of oil. "Think, where we would be today if we had not done that. That was another tough decision, but we took it because it was right," he said. Najib said the overall size of the capital market increased to RM2.8 trillion last year, up 150 per cent since 2009, and standing at two and a half times Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product. During the same period, he said the equity market expanded 69.6 per cent to RM1.7 trillion while the bond and sukuk market grew 74.4 per cent to RM1.1 trillion. He said other parts of the Malaysian economy demonstrated similar resilience with the trade surplus widening to RM7.5 billion in February from RM5.4 billion in January, making it the 220th consecutive month of trade surplus since November 1997. "This achievement is particularly encouraging considering the challenges posed by low commodity prices, currency fluctuation and economic slowdown in China," he said. He added that for every one per cent slowdown in the Chinese economy, Malaysia's economy shrank 0.4 per cent since China remained the country's biggest trading partner. Najib said the government had enacted policies to ensure the people had the right skills by investing in training as well as policies to ensure that basic foodstuffs, housing, healthcare and other necessities were available at low prices. "The results have been good. We have virtually eliminated absolute poverty to less than one per cent. The income of the bottom 40 per cent of households has increased by a compound annual growth rate of 12 per cent, even higher than the national average of eight per cent," he said. Najib added that the implementation of minimum wage legislation has also lifted 2.9 million people immediately out of absolute poverty. The two-day Invest Malaysia 2016 conference gathered over 2,200 fund managers, policy makers, capital market drivers and thought leaders to discuss the investment opportunities available in Malaysia. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA