PETALING JAYA, Sept 28 — Malaysia’s placing in the ‘junk’ category by credit default swap (CDS) traders did not reflect the country’s economic fundamentals.
Malaysian Economic Association (MEA) President, Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim, said what the CDS traders did was a reflection of the market sentiment and did not necessarily reflect economic facts or fundamentals. “Hopefully, it will be better as the country’s economic prospects and governance issues improve,” he said on the sidelines of the Malaysian Economic Convention 2015 here today.
In terms of economic fundamentals, Sherrif said, Malaysia’s actual ratings were still quite strong as reflected in those giving by several rating agencies.
On ways to improve market sentiment, Sherrif said, many current problems were associated with global uncertainties, local governance issues and perception.
“The sooner the government looks at the issues of governance and perception, the better it is for the country,” he said.
The two-day event, themed ‘Financial Governance and Economic Growth’ was jointly organised by MEA and the Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya.— Bernama
