Malaysia needs more startups, high-tech companies to be listed on Bursa, says Rafizi

The Star

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.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

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.

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