"We do know that it's difficult to invest in other fast-growing markets like China, because you really need to know what you're doing.
"So that's a big challenge for us."
The Finance Minister has directed officials to look into why New Zealand's level of ODI is so unspectacular. The upshot is it simply confirms officials don't have any answers. So, they're now going out and talking to businesses about their experiences.
"If you look at the numbers you can see there is a story, but no one knows what the story is," says English. "So, actually, government has got to equip itself much better to understand what drives business investment decisions offshore. Then we've got to workout whether we can add any value to that."
At a practical level, English applauds the work New Zealand Trade and Enterprise has under way to refocus and reorganise NZ's footprint on the ground. "That's positive, and clearly there's a lot more to do. Treasury is doing more theoretical stuff."
It might seem a rather anodyne concern for the Finance Minister - or something better left to colleagues Steven Joyce who has responsibility for the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment or Tim Groser who has NZTE.
But English says it's an important driver when it comes to closing the current account deficit by offsetting borrowings with the returns from more equity investment offshore.
"You expect our firms to be behaving in the same way as foreign firms do in New Zealand, and that is that they underpin their trade with sound investment," he adds. "Our long-term commitment in the Asia-Pacific region will be demonstrated by our willingness and ability to invest in those markets. It's one element of competitiveness - productivity and all that competitiveness at home matters - but this is an element that looks a bit undercooked."
English indicates the National-led Government is "pretty pleased"with progress in the local capital markets since it took office in late 2008 at the height of the Global Financial Crisis. He applauds the work of the Capital Markets taskforce and acknowledges the foresight of previous Labour Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel in getting the reform process under way.
"So the size of their public capital market relative to GDP is growing pretty significantly," he acknowledges. "We're going through the phase now where all the new regulation is only just coming in. That's through the result of a seven or eight year process.
"We've got to give it time to reshape the perceptions and expectations in the market and that's happening just at a time when there's a feedback of confidence around on the economy - so it's a pretty positive outlook."
What English wants to make clear is that the government "can't regulate away risk".
"There's still plenty to do to make sure that as the new regime beds in we ensure we've got it right," he says. "You can minimise a systemic risk, and we've just got to make sure we've got the balance right between some certainty and predictability for investors on the one hand, but making sure it's investors who are taking the risks, not government agencies trying to get rid of it.
The Finance Minister is keeping a weather eye on international conditions.
He points to the uncertainty around the Chinese adjustment and uncertainty in Australia ("their economic numbers are reasonably good, but confidence is quite patchy").
"The other feature of the international adjustment is that we've had a sort of artificial stability and low growth levels, where everyone relied on central banks to keep the vehicle moving and keep growth above zero.
"We're now heading into a period where growth is going to depend less on central banks, and more on government policy particularly microeconomic policy.
"That brings more political uncertainty, and there'll be a bit more volatility, because all the asset pricing has been distorted by the flood of cheap cash that's coming to the system. As that's wound back, asset prices will change.
"We're in for a period, I think, of higher growth rates, but more volatility in markets. We've got to be aware that where it matters directly to New Zealand is around our outward investment.
"Those markets with higher growth rates but more asset price volatility, are markets in which we need to invest more.
Questioned whether he believes the NZ economy is in a more healthy position to ride out another major international financial crisis, English responds "I think we are in a much better shape.
"We got through a pretty severe one last time, when no one was really ready for it. This time around you've got a shorter banking system, an investment community more attuned to the kind of risks that sit behind a credit crunch and a pretty flexible, resilient system."