Soros 'involved' in currency attacks<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad says
\nhe is convinced that American billionaire hedge fund manager
\nGeorge Soros is the prime force behind the recent currency
\nassault on Malaysia and several other Southeast Asian countries.<\/p>\n
"We have definite information that Soros is involved. Of
\ncourse he is not the only one... But he started it. He had this
\nidea that by applying pressure on Thailand and Malaysia he could
\nprevent Myanmar from joining ASEAN," Mahathir asserts in an
\ninterview with the U.S. Fortune business magazine for the Sept.8
\nissue which is out on the newsstand this week.<\/p>\n
Mahathir believes that Soros' aim is to punish Malaysia for
\nits support of Myanmar's ruling military junta, the State Law and
\nOrder Council, the anti-democratic activities which Soros' New
\nYork-based Open Society Institute opposes.<\/p>\n
But Mahathir told reporters in Kuala LUmpur on Saturday he
\ndoes not want to meet American financier Soros.<\/p>\n
World Bank officials were reported as saying on Friday that
\nthe bank would arrange a meeting between Soros and Mahathir, who
\nwill be attending a World Bank-International Monetary Fund
\nmeeting in Hong Kong in September.<\/p>\n
"I will go to Hong Kong, but I don't have any wish to meet
\nhim," Mahathir told reporters.<\/p>\n
"I have never given the World Bank any mandate to arrange
\nanything," said Mahathir. The World Bank-IMF meeting is scheduled
\nfor Sept. 20-25.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian ringgit, the Philippines peso, the Indonesian
\nrupiah, the Thai bhat, and other Southeast Asian currencies have
\nfallen the past seven weeks.<\/p>\n
In Hong Kong Soros has denied involvement in embattled
\ncurrency markets in Southeast Asia and has said he believes
\nstability will return soon, a newspaper reported yesterday.<\/p>\n
"As for our activities in Southeast Asia, we have recently
\nbought some Indonesian rupiah," Soros said in answer to written
\nquestions from the Sunday Morning Post.<\/p>\n
The newspaper also quoted the billionaire, who has been
\naccused of playing a role in the plunge in major regional
\ncurrencies in recent weeks, as saying stability would return
\n"soon" and that some units might be due for a rebound.<\/p>\n
"If anything, the pendulum has, in some cases, swung too far
\nin the opposite direction," he said when asked if the region's
\ncurrencies were still overvalued at current levels.<\/p>\n
Soros also said he did not believe market pressure would break
\nthe local dollar's peg to the United States dollar.<\/p>\n
"I am convinced that the peg will not be severed under
\nduress," he said. He also added that those who had moved against
\nthe Hong Kong dollar were "not going to get rich".<\/p>",
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