Wednesday October 8, 2008
PETALING JAYA: Local banks have remained resilient amid the global financial crisis thanks to the stringent measures adopted by Bank Negara after the Asian financial crisis of 1997.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Kong Cho Ha said the banking and financial system was reformed in such a way that local banks were not exposed to any US subprime effects.
“We are very fortunate because our economic fundamentals are still very sound, especially our banking industry, and I would say that our banks are still very resilient,” he said after a press conference on the 2nd Global Bio-Herbs Economic Forum, which will be held from Nov 15 to Nov 17.
On the downward trend of the local stock exchange, Kong said “any investors would now adopt a wait-and-see attitude.”
“The current performance of the US and major European stock markets, as well as the East Asian markets including Japan and Hong Kong, will inevitably cause loss of confidence among the investors.
“However, as in any economic crisis, there are vast opportunities for investors to look into,” he said.
Kong said investors would have to decide for themselves on the right time for the right investment opportunities.
Although Malaysia would be affected by the fallout, as with other countries, Kong said it would not actually affect the economic fundamentals of the country.
“Our stock market downturn is not as bad as some other major markets in the world and that shows that our market is actually very healthy at comfortable price-to-earnings of about 11 or 12 times.”
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/8/business/2211463&sec=business
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