BIG PLANS,LITTLE RISK

摘要

At the end of 2010, Malaysia's capital markets were worth just over RM2000bn ($670bn), boosted by RM87.5bn in equity and debt issuances during the year. On that basis, it still lags behind Asian capital markets such as Hong Kong and South Korea, but Malaysia punches above its weight in south-east Asia as a hub for raising funds. Its compounded capital-markets growth rate averaged 11% from 2000 to 2010, according to Maybank, the largest lender in Malaysia. In terms of product mix, 63% is in equity, with the remainder in fixed income, mostly government and government-backed corporate bonds. Bankers say the bond market has plenty of liquidity and enough daily turnover to appeal to international portfolio investors. As a ratio of gross domestic product, Malaysia's bond market is already the third largest in Asia. It also has a strong claim to be a global leader in Islamic finance, a niche that has served Malaysia well. Malaysia's prime minister, Najib Razak wants to reposition Malaysia as an international financial centre. To this end, he recently unveiled a 10-year capital markets development programme, dubbed 'CMP2', with the ambitious target of tripling its current size. As it stands, the market is forecast to reach RM4500bn by 2020 - not bad, but a minnow in global terms.