Sultan Bolkiah plans to aid Asia economies

Sultan Bolkiah plans to aid Asia economies

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): The Sultan of Brunei, one of the world's richest men, plans to help Asian economies pull through a financial crisis with strategic investments, Malaysia's prime minister said on Saturday.

Mahathir Mohamad met Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who was on a one-day visit to Kuala Lumpur, for lunch.

He told reporters later that the Sultan had not specified any investments for the region but was concerned about the financial problems faced by the countries in ASEAN -- the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"We (discussed) generally on how we can help the countries of the region get over the (economic) problem... not only in Malaysia, but the ASEAN region," Mahathir said.

He said there were "not really any concrete proposals", although the Sultan, estimated at one time to be worth more than $40 billion, was "interested in some investments".

Mahathir said the Sultan also did not say how long it would take him and his state-owned Brunei Investment Agency to make a decision.

"They have to do due diligence, they might make a decision early, they might even buy shares in the stock market for example. I don't know, because everything is open," Mahathir said.

Brunei's Deputy Finance Minister Selamat Munap told Reuters in an interview last week that the tiny oil-rich kingdom could not be a "white knight" to save Asian countries, which were mired in financial problems.

But Mahathir said Sultan Bolkiah shared his worries "about the currency fall (in Asia) which triggers a lot of problems, among which is the migration of people."

Malaysia, like some other Asian economies, has seen a sharp fall in the value of its currency and stocks since July last year.

Brunei has been largely shielded from the problem as its currency is pegged to that of Singapore, another country which has weathered the crisis better than most ASEAN members.

ASEAN groups Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Weak investor confidence in the region has led to talk that many of its high-profile investments and projects might be sold for cash.

Malaysia, for instance, was recently rumored to have sold one of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

That was denied last week by Petronas, the national oil corporation, which owns the towers. But rumors of prime hotel and other landmark properties going up for sale persist in the Malaysian capital.

Mahathir did not comment on any of the rumors.

But he said Sultan Bolkiah might decide to make "some of the investments in Malaysia, in everything, whatever is worthwhile".

The Sultan reportedly owns many prime properties in the world and is said to be always on the lookout for strategic investments.