LOWER NET INVESTMENT FLOW NOT NECESSARILY BAD, SAYS NAZIR

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (Bernama) -- Malaysia should not be overly concerned
over more investments from the country flowing to other countries than the
amount of foreign direct investments coming into the country, a prominent banker
said Monday.

CIMB Bank Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Nazir
Razak said lower net investment flow was not necessarily bad.

Malaysia should instead analyse the data. When you see the data, don't jump
into a conclusion. We have to look at the investment quality and at the
investment timing," he told reporters on the sidelines of the CIMB Group
extraordinary general meeting Monday.

Nazir was responding on a report released by the United Nations Conference
on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on global inflows of foreign direct investment.

UNCTAD in its World Foreign Investment Report (WIR) 2010 report stated that
Malaysian foreign direct investments dropped 81 per cent to US$1.38 billion
(RM4.43 billion) in 2009 from US$7.32 billion (RM23.47 billion) in 2008.

Nazir said the lower FDI inflow could be due to the delay in some projects
and lumpy Malaysian investment abroad which could also distort the net numbers.

He cited as example the CIMB Bank Group and Maybank undertaking huge
investments into Indonesia.

"It is not a bad thing. It is a good thing because in the longer term, it
is beneficial to Malaysia," he said, adding that when banks invest overseas,
there will be returns to Malaysia.

"So, I don't think we should be jumping and getting over excited about
the investment data that has come out.

"(To avoid misconception) Malaysia should go through the process of
analysing the data," he added.

-- BERNAMA