IRISH institutional investors will have to invest more of their funds overseas because of the lack of investment opportunities in the Irish market, according to the IBI Corporate Finance's managing director, Mr Richard Keatinge.

There are plenty of potential candidates for privatisation in the Republic and there is a considerable appetite for investment, he said at the Ulster Society of Chartered Accountants' conference in Belfast.

It was "puzzling" that there had not been more privatisations in the Republic, he said.

"If State companies were subject to the discipline of achieving a steady increase in earnings, these businesses would become increasingly efficient," he added.

Stating that Irish listed companies are valued at a discount of 20 per cent to 30 per cent to their British counterparts, Mr Keatinge expressed surprise that there had not been a higher rate of takeover of Irish companies by "overseas predators".

"Unless the Irish market is made more attractive to private, as well as institutional investors, this imbalance will continue, with the result that very few new companies will come to the market and the number who are already there will be acquired. As a result the range of Irish equity investments will reduce further," he warned.

Business people can make a powerful contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland, according to the president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, Mr Nial Deasy.

Tensions over national identity, language and political orientation could be overcome with the necessary leadership and practical support from the two governments and the active involvement of the business community, he said.