BUT IS DAIM THE REAL TARGET?: Tycoon Tong is not a currency speculator

Most of those who have attacked Dato Tong may not understand what short-selling, be it currency or share, is about. In simple terms. It is the sale of a currency or security that is not owned by the seller, or that the seller has borrowed.

Short-selling is motivated by the belief that the exchange rate of a currency, say the ringgit, or price of a security will decline, enabling it to be bought back at a lower price to make a profit.

Short-selling may be prompted by speculation, or by the desire to hedge the downside risk of a long position in the same security or a related one. Since the risk of loss on a short sale is theoretically infinite, short-selling should only be used by experienced traders who are familiar with its risks.

Deepen your knowledge of short-selling by reading the basic guide on Short Selling: Introduction. http://www.investopedia.com

Is Dato Tong is currency speculator? I know he is not. He is a well-known security analyst and an entrepreneur with a Midas touch. He is also an astute investor and a builder of businesses. I knew him from my days in Cambodia in the 1990s. I met him when he visited Phnom Penh with some of my friends to identify business opportunities. He then owned a bank, and was a property developer and an equity analyst with a solid reputation. A currency speculator has a different mindset.

His attackers have chosen the wrong guy to heap the blame for the recent dismal performance of the ringgit. It is time we look seriously into our economic and fiscal and monetary policies before we find scapegoats for our policy failures. It is sad to note that our leaders are not prepared to deal with reality. Surely, we can manage our affairs better.

While it is true that the strength of the US dollar “may be due in part to the strengthening of the US economy and the expectations of an interest rate hike, following the end of the US quantitative easing since October 2014″, I add that the lack of investor confidence in our economy for 2015 and our worrying political climate are influencing sentiments on our stock market and undermining the ringgit. - TMI