Invest Malaysia to draw strong interest

Published: 2009/05/23

THIS year's Invest Malaysia conference, to be held from June 30 to July 1, is expected to draw strong investor interest now that the stock market is improving, its organisers said.The conference, usually held in March, is an annual affair that started in 2005.

It gives fund managers and institutional investors' - both local and foreign, - the chance to get first-hand information from corporate captains and government officials about investment opportunities in Malaysia.Some 600 delegates are expected to attend the by-invitation only conference this year. This is about the same turnout as last year.

Bursa Malaysia will host the event together with CIMB Investment Bank.CIMB Group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said the timing for the conference is good as people have shown more interest of late in investing in Malaysia.

"The stock market's gone up, liquidity is back. It's an interesting time to invest here because the believers could make pretty good money," he told a press briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.Foreign investor participation in the stock market has improved, and now accounts for about 30 per cent of daily trading value, Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Yusli Mohamed Yusoff noted.

This is, however, still lower than a year ago, when it was about 42 per cent.The conference, which will be held at the Shangri La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, will focus on the country's growth drivers.Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who will deliver the keynote address, is expected to outline his administration's agenda for the capital market.

New policies affecting the capital market may be announced, Yusli said, noting that the government had in previous years used this platform to announce such policies.Nazir believes this may be "the most impactful" Invest Malaysia conference to date as it will coincide with the first time Malaysia Inc, led by the Najib administration, presents itself to the international and domestic investment community.