The paper was priced at 330 basis points above equivalent U.S. Treasurys. Many noted that South Korean and Thai sovereign issues were trading at only 240 and 230 basis points, respectively, above Treasurys. On the surface, comparisons with Thailand seem appropriate. While on the whole Malaysia may not be better off than its neighbours, neither is it faring worse. The perception that it is may be coloured by its insistence on maintaining capital controls, which unfairly changed the rules of capital flow midstream.
Controls are a big, black mark.
So if it wants to alter the perception that it says is unfair, Malaysia may want to consider better treatment for the investors it locked in with controls. After all, give a little, get a little. A mazing how bad ideas won't go away. Last Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi worried that the baht was rising too high, making Thai exports less competitive. The deputy premier must have wanted something done.