GE14 | CIMB boss Nazir Razak said the incoming Mahathir administration's promise to review Malaysia's deals with China will be good for Malaysia.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Nazir said corporations have been calling a review of some China investments in Malaysia.

"(They) want to make sure that (the deals) are valuable to Malaysia and are good for Malaysians.

"I have also gone public in saying that we have to look at every investment to make sure what is the value-add to Malaysia.

"A review process is okay and will be a good thing for Malaysia," said Nazir, the younger brother of ousted prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

On Harapan's pledge to remove GST, Nazir said what remains to be seen was how the Mahathir-administration plans to balance its books.

"I think withdrawing GST has to be seen as part of an overall equation. Where is the give in terms of the comeback viz the budget?

"Perhaps a reduction in terms of some of the development and operating expenditure will help.

"So I don't think we should look at removing GST as a necessarily a bad thing. What (will be) the adjustments on the other side of the equation?" asked Nazir.

The Najib administration has embarked on a number of mega-projects which rely heavily on borrowings from China, most prominently the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) project.

READ MORE

Rakyat voted against 'big and noisy' 1MDB, says Nazir

Nazir: Dr M has a habit of exceeding expectations