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.