According to Thai News Service, analysts in Malaysia say that the country is unlikely to be impacted in a big way by the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch.
“I can’t see it having a direct impact on Malaysia. Any impact is likely to be indirect,” said Wong Ming Tek, head of research at HwangDBS Vickers Research. Banks in Malaysia had in the last few months said they didn’t have any major sub-prime exposure, and as such, Malaysia is likely to be spared the direct fallout from the collapse of the two financial institutions.
News of their collapse will, however, affect investor sentiment. On Monday, it sent stock markets in Europe and Asia reeling. “This will inevitably affect our stock market valuations,” said Clement Chew, head of equities broking at JP Morgan in Malaysia.
However, there are concerns that the collapse will affect the American economy and consequentially, global growth. “A slower US economy will hurt growth forecasts in Asia and Europe,” the New Straits Times quoted Chew as saying.
Lehman Brothers, which Monday filed for bankruptcy protection in the US, does not have a presence in Malaysia but Merrill Lynch has a small research presence here.