IFR: The government is trying hard to promote FDI. Thomas, do you think this is an initiative that’s going to be successful? Thomas Meow, CIMB: Well, it’s early days. On the ETP, the plan is basically for foreign investment to support something like 25% of the RM1.3trn cost of the programme. That’s quite a bit of FDI. Whether we are able to do that is perhaps beyond the scope of our discussion today. The other problem is even if we are able to attract FDI of that size, there is another probably

Sentiment in Malaysia is running high. Participants at IFR’s Malaysian Capital Markets Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur on October 8 noted that the country came through the crisis relatively unscathed. Malaysian banks are generally in good shape and, from a capital markets perspective, the country is broadly self-sufficient. G3 bond and offshore loan volumes from Malaysian borrowers pale into relative insignificance against the quantum of funds raised in the local market. Such is the depth of Malaysia

Ai Chin Tan, OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Ai Chin Tan is head of investment banking at OCBC Bank (Malaysia). Prior to her current position, she was head of debt origination at RBS Bank Malaysia (formerly ABN AMRO), in charge of both local and foreign currency debt raising and financial advisory services. She was also previously general manager and head of the capital markets and structured finance division in the investment banking arm of Maybank Group. She has accumulated almost 20 years of experience

IFR: Malaysia had a relatively good crisis and came through it in pretty good shape. Sentiment today in the domestic capital markets seems to be fairly robust, the economic metrics are looking OK, and the central bank has been quite pragmatic in its rate policy. Angus, what are your general thoughts? Angus Salim Amran, Cagamas: I think that you’re correct when you say that Malaysia has probably done very well considering what’s happened in the rest of the world. I think it’s also very good to kn

IFR: So expand on that last point about the fund. How do you envisage that might work? Promod Dass, RAM Ratings: Well, you could have a fund that focuses on this segment and of course they will look at high-yield. As to the type of investor, I’m not sure. But I just feel that there is a gap in the market. I go back to the point that when banks sell NPLs, there are investors or funds that come and look for these sorts of risky assets. Ai Chin Tan, OCBC: On the issue of Danajamin, one fundamental