Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia will loosen investment regulations to attract foreign funds to help stave off the growing financial turmoil, consultancy Zetland Fiduciary Group reports.
One of the Malaysian government’s plans is to liberate the property market, a move last done in April 2007, with measures including a blanket exemption on real property gains tax, the removal of Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) approvals for foreign ownership of houses costing RM250,000 (US$69,000) and above, and unlimited loans for non-residents.
The measures paid off with developers reporting higher sales – more than half of which went to foreigners, property consultant Ho Chin Soon told the New Strait Times newspaper. Analysts say top foreign property buyers include Singaporeans and those from the Middle East, Britain, Europe and, more recently, China.
This time the government might further relax the rules on commercial or industrial properties, Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association President Ng Seing Liong was quoted as saying.
The government will also inject RM5 billion (US$1.37 billion) to double the size of a local fund that invests in undervalued companies to reduce the impact of a global slowdown.
"We have to make Malaysia more competitive,"
Najib said the government may also review its budget deficit targets for this year and next and postpone some infrastructure projects. He said it is inevitable that the country’s economy would feel the impact of the financial turmoil but insisted it will not slide into a financial crisis.
The economic growth forecast for next year will have to be cut from the current estimate of 5.4 percent, he said.
“Malaysia is not in a crisis and we will not go into a recession,” he told the Bernama news agency. “Yes our stock market is affected by the sentiments in other markets, but I would like to stress that we are not in a financial crisis, and certainly we should not talk ourselves into one.”
Najib said some investments and property purchases may no longer require the approval of the Foreign Investment Committee.
The report was carried on the website of Zetland Fiduciary Group Limited. Each month Hong Kong-based Zetland offers an array of analysis and financial reporting.
Zetland was established in 1987 and has offices in Seychelles, Singapore, Tokyo, Belize, Geneva, New Zealand and Shanghai.
