Malaysians Remain Bullish On Investment Outlook

Malaysians Remain Bullish On Investment Outlook
Taken from Bernama

17 Oct 07

Despite fears that the U.S subprime crisis will spread to wider global economy, 60 percent of Malaysians have a positive investment outlook and investor sentiment remains robust in most Asian countries, according to a study by ING Asia Pacific.

The ING Investor Sentiment Tracking Study which surveyed 13 markets across Asia with a total 1,308 mass affluent respondents, showed investors in the two `hottest' Asian economies - China and India - are the most bullish, with over 70 percent respondents there believing the economic situation in their home country will improve in the next three months.

Malaysia followed closely behind at 60 percent, with a majority of Malaysians believing government policies will favour investment growth, making them the second most confident in their government market in the region, after India.

"Malaysian investors are very optimistic in their investment outlook which can be partly explained by an expectation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of more than five percent for 2007.

"The government's development plans, including the five-year Ninth Malaysia Plan and the Iskandar Development Region, could also be contributing factors to the high level of investor confidence," said ING Funds chief executive officer Steve Ong in a statement, here Tuesday.

Research firm TNS conducted the study in July and August this year through online and face-to-face interviews with investors in Malaysia, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

While local stocks emerged as the most popular choice of investment in Asia as chosen by more than half of the countries surveyed, the study revealed that 81 percent of Malaysian investors chose cash/deposits as their most preferred investment tools.

The study also revealed that Malaysians generally invest more for wealth accumulation (41 percent), followed by retirement (23 percent), capital preservation (19 percent) and education (16 percent).

Japanese investors were found the least optimistic amongst the 13 markets, with only 26 percent respondents believing their economic will improve in the next three months, which may be reflecting the country's political changes.