M'SIA MUST FOCUS ON INCREASING LONG-TERM PRIVATE SECTOR COMMITMENTS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (Bernama) -- There is a need to focus on increasing
private sector commitments to investing over long-term horizons as a catalyst
for sustained global economic recovery, says Prime Minister Najib Tun
Razak.

He said investors were now increasingly risk-averse, preferring safety and
short-term liquidity.

"The willingness to commit funds over long periods of time is necessary to
fuel an entrepreneurial environment," he said at the World Capital Markets
Symposium here Monday.

His keynote address was delivered by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin
Mohd Yassin.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said there was a need to achieve better
balance in the social compact between finance on one side and the interests of
society on the other.

"Profits cannot be the sole motivation of enterprise, for while they
satisfy the individual shareholder, they may not meet the requirements of
society," he said.

Najib also said a global agenda for governance must be to shift the emphasis
from nations competing to promoting global cooperation and collaboration.

He said "competition should be managed so that it does not turn into a
free-for-all, otherwise this will inevitably lead us down the road of
beggar-thy-neighbour."

"The building of bridges of trust and confidence across borders is a task
that in my view requires greater attention than previously provided," he said.

Najib also proposed that international governance be reviewed as it played a
key role in shaping the compact between organised business and finance.

He said institutional arrangements need strengthening to promote fairer
distribution of economic wealth and widespread social well-being.

He also said that good governance should translate into adequate checks
and balances to avoid domination by influential interests in the global
decision-making process.

-- BERNAMA