| Alex Paul is an investment banker in London. He advises emerging market companies on raising equity capital from international investors. Alex can be contacted on Twitter at @alexjpaul |
Riding the next FDI wave
August 05, 2011AUG 5 — The UNCTAD’s recent publication of the World Investment Report will no doubt give Malaysian policy-makers some reason to be optimistic.On a global level, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows have increased some 15 per cent to US$1.24 trillion (RM3.69 trillion), which is welcome news for a country that treats FDI as the Holy Grail of economic … Read More
When will Asia lead?
May 24, 2011MAY 24 — Let’s not delude ourselves; the next head of the IMF was always going to be a European. Despite much commentary in Asia (and Europe) about the need for a candidate from the developing world, the US and EU agree that Dominique Strauss-Kahn is to be replaced with another European, maintaining the convenient status quo of a European head of the IMF … Read More
Are we all Mahathirists now?
November 04, 2010NOV 4 — The reaction to Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 2011 Budget has been anything but apathetic. It has already come under attack for being a profligate and reckless pre-election Budget, with criticisms centred on the size of the Budget and the proposed spending on so-called “mega-projects.”These criticisms may be politically expedient and guaranteed crowd … Read More
Saving the NEM
July 26, 2010JULY 26 — The New Economic Model (NEM) was conceived in earnestness and delivered with trepidation. Its birth was long overdue – much needed by a nation looking for a strong policy impetus from a new administration – but already it has been treated with neglect and, by some, with abuse.This is a mistake. As policies go, the NEM must be lauded for its many … Read More
A new Asean way
March 15, 2010MARCH 15 — During a discussion with a Middle-Eastern investor recently, I was left speechless when asked why it was that Malaysia was not a member of any large economic grouping.Truth be told, the question was as much amusing as it was surprising — Malaysia after all is privy to a multitude of international economic arrangements, ranging from its … Read More
The price of being good
February 23, 2010FEB 23 — “The governance of companies is more important for world economic growth than the government of countries”.Those were the words of James Wolfensohn, then-president of the World Bank, in 2002. Although they may sound somewhat of an overstatement today, they reflected the sentiment of a time when the scandals of Worldcom, Enron and Parmalat had … Read More
We need to sell Malaysia
February 08, 2010FEB 8 — As you read this, 400,000 people are in danger of being made homeless by rising sea levels, but we haven’t taken much notice.We haven’t done so because those people live in the Maldives, a small nation with no natural resources other than its (non-extractable) natural beauty. Thanks largely to global warming, the tiny collection of 26 atolls are … Read More
Has anything changed?
January 26, 2010JAN 26 — How much are 200 US$1 bills worth?Nearly US$44 million (RM150 million), apparently. And before you ask, yes, I can count (with a calculator at least). In November last year, at a time when we were supposed to be in the midst of the worst recession since even old people can remember, an investor in New York paid that eye-watering amount for a … Read More