Investment deals worth billions signed between Malaysia and China last week are still not picking up as expected, according to Monday business reports. Analysts argue that a lot of factors might have triggered this.

The RM 144 billion ($47 billion) investment between China and Malaysia was signed off last week and incorporated 30 projects. This, some analysts argue, could work against the intended growth of the bilateral relationship.

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As of Friday last week, the FBMKLCI benchmark dropped by 1.3 percent. On Monday, however, there was slight change after it rose by 0.14 percent with 366 gainers and 388 losers.

According to one analyst, a great number of investors were paying greater attention to the American elections and how they can benefit from it.

"Our clients are more interested in external developments to see how they can position themselves to capitalize on the changes," the analyst said.

Malaysia's former finance ministry deputy secretary general Ramon Navaratnam brought up issues to do with transparency while addressing national news agency Bernama journalists.

"Spell out the details of how these massive infrastructure contracts would be priced," he said. "If the contracts are to be negotiated then the concern is that we may pay much more than international market prices."

He recommended open tenders strongly because it reduces the possibility of being overpriced and corrupt.

While using the East Coast Rail Link as an example, Hong Leong Investment Bank Research head, Sia Ket Ee, said that in as much as the investments deals were friendly, they were long-term with most still in the discussion stage.

"While the aggregate figures are enormous, it is difficult to ascertain how much of it will be executed," said Sia. "Their true economic potential is also uncertain given their lack of specification."

Another key factor questioned is the fact that China was in quite a rush to sign off on the agreement. Also, the fact that China has the tendency to import both materials and labor from home was greatly criticized.

Tagschina, Malaysia, China-Malaysia investment