Speaking at a panel session of the KL20 Summit 2024 on Monday (April 22), Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said that there is a limited number of start-ups or high-tech companies poised for listing on Bursa Malaysia, as the majority of corporations in Malaysia remain in traditional sectors.
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00:00We talk about start-ups, so that's something that we'll be monitoring.
00:05The other bit is the pipeline of companies ready to go for listing locally,
00:12either at ace market or late market or even the main market.
00:17Because for many years, that has been our problem as an economy.
00:22We have very limited pool of companies to go for listing.
00:28And that's because most of our major corporations are in traditional sectors.
00:35If we compare our bursa market with some others,
00:40I think our tech weightage is very low, I think 4-5% alone only.
00:48And what a pity, because this is a country that is recognised globally
00:55as one of the most important semiconductor players in the world.
01:02You know, I think the anecdotes back then during COVID is that
01:06people cannot produce cars elsewhere because Malaysia is closed for basements
01:11because a lot of the chips that are used in automotive is actually from Malaysia.
01:17And the fact that despite having such a strong E&E, a global exporter,
01:24our tech weightage in our local market is only 4%,
01:29we certainly missed out the last few months' bull run in the tech market.
01:36So that's also one indicator that we would like to see,
01:41that we have more and more pipelines of tech and startups ready for listing.
01:48Because if all this happens, then we would be able to create a sustainable pivot
01:56to the high-value economy where government focuses more on the regulation,
02:02more on the ecosystem, less on funding, less on direct intervention.
02:07Because those are the prerequisites.
02:11And I think we can do it.
02:13If there is one thing that I realised sitting down with so-called tech celebrities
02:19and the other industries, we were doing the same thing
02:22when we were rolling out the ambitious plan for energy transition.
02:26There were a few things that had worked before in our favour as Malaysians.
02:32Number one, we can be really humble.
02:35And humility goes a long way, especially when you already have a good foundation.
02:42Number two, we have good talents, whether we like it or not.
02:47We may not see it, but people from around the world recognise
02:52that Malaysian has a good foundation in terms of talents, in terms of education and so on.
02:59Thirdly, we have always been blessed with inherent advantages.
03:07Previously, we had a lot of natural resources.
03:10Now, our geographical location and the neutrality that comes with it,
03:17given the backdrop of geopolitical shifts around the world,
03:21suddenly it becomes our strong inherent advantages.
03:26And if we do this together, and I switched from doing pitching for my startup
03:35to pitching for the country in the last one year,
03:38I do notice that people readily open up to us.
03:43It's not that difficult to sell Malaysia as a place,
03:47provided that we have a plan, we have the humility, we work for it,
03:51and we give the commitment and early success.
03:55And two, three years down the line, I think if we are able to make KL20 work,
04:02the rest, I think, will sort out by itself.
04:05And that's my wish, hopefully, for the country.
04:08Thank you.