Business
"Not The Time To Panic But Time For Wise
Investments In Bursa"

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 (Bernama)
The current sluggish momentum in
the local bourse is not because of any fundamental weakness but more
due to jittery investors sentiments, said CIMB-Principal Asset
Management Bhds chief investment officer, Raymond Tang.

The local market has already factored in the impact of the financial
meltdown in the United States and Europe, he said, adding that it is also
adjusting and taking into account the recession that is expected to take
place in the United States.

"I think our market is less volatile, (but whether) it has bottomed, I think
it is still too early to say (no one knows) how much further the engine
(financial market in the West) has been damaged," he said during a
briefing on how to invest in a difficult market.

At 4pm the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index shed 18.89 points to 947.17.
CIMB-Principal year-end target for the Index is 1,000 points.
Hence, it is not the time to "panic" but the time to make wise investment
decisions as it has been proven that when the market goes down it will
rebound and there will be gains to be made.

Tang said even during the massive downturn, the local bourse did not
take a nosedive like the other regional markets.

"Malaysia's market fell far less then the neighbouring countries. If you see
in the last two weeks, the local bourse fell between six and seven per cent
versus the neighbouring countries, which fell 20-30 per cent. But, of
course when the markets rally, we go up less."

For Malaysia, it is more of a "pot hole" and not a "bump."
"Hold on for a while because the whole market is in chaos. So, explore
the situation and be less panicky. Those with a clearer mind will profit
compared with those who panic," he said.

Investors should also focus on a 3-5 years time horizon, said CIMBPrincipals
chief executive, Datuk Noripah Kamso.

It is just time to slowdown a bit, take a look around and when things are
fine, move ahead, Tang said, adding that even CIMB-Principal has
deferred plans to launch about two funds, of which one is a real estate
fund.

"The funds were planned for last year, we deferred it for six months, then
another six months as there is no point selling funds at the current
market situation," he said.

On the other hand, Noripah said CIMB-Principal has reached out to the
investing public via its new Flagship Fund initiative to enable the investing
public to invest defensively during the current market volatility. The
flagship fund consist of eight core funds with consistent long-term risk
adjusted returns. She said the funds are widely diversified across different
sectors and assets.