KUALA LUMPUR (June 13, 2013): Malaysia must choose a
flexible and open economy, engage more with regional partners, secure
inward investments and open up industries to greater competition, in
charting a path to a more prosperous future, Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Najib Abdul Razak said today.
He said Malaysia must also strengthen domestic investment, build
government-linked and private sector companies into global and regional
champions, and give local small and medium-sized enterprises the means
to compete on the world stage.
"That means building a sustainable economy, with an open market that allows for both stability and growth.
"And it means attracting and developing the talents needed to compete
in a more connected world," he said when opening the Invest Malaysia
2013 conference here.
The Prime Minister also announced the introduction of multiple entry
visas for up to five years for qualified business investors and fund
managers to visit Malaysia.
Najib said the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) has a definite
vision of the kind of economy it is intended to create including
stimulating foreign investment, boosting domestic demand and ensuring
the rewards of sustainable growth are made available to all Malaysians.
"In the medium term, we must make our affirmative action programmes
more market-friendly and meritocratic," he said, adding that Malaysia
must concentrate on boosting domestic demand and productivity to offset
dips in the country's major export markets.
He said efforts to build Malaysia into a regional energy hub must
continue and should see further growth as the industry -- which
contributes more than 40 per cent to national income -- is essential to
safeguard the nation's medium-and long-term position.
Although Malaysia's capital market has quality institutional
structure and regulation, Najib said more needs to be done to encourage
wider international participation through opening up Malaysian markets
to a wider spectrum of individuals, communities and businesses.
"We should also redouble efforts to provide a comprehensive range of
Islamic financial products and accelerate efforts to internationalise
the Islamic capital market," he said.
He said the roll-out next year of myULM, the country's first online
trading platform for unlisted securities and alternative investment
products, could be the catalyst for the creation of more inclusive and
innovative capital market products for investors.
Najib urged government-linked investment companies, especially the
Employee's Provident Fund (EPF), to play a more prominent role and
increase market vibrancy, particularly in good quality mid-cap stocks,
to increase the velocity of shares traded and make a significant
contribution to overall market vibrancy.
He said their participation will provide another avenue for companies
to access primary and secondary funding to bring their businesses to
the next stage of development.
In order to meet the needs of the securities and derivatives
industry, the Prime Minister said the "Graduate Representative
Programme" or GRP 100 will be launched in the coming weeks in order to
bring a thousand new graduates to support increased market activities.
Meanwhile, Najib said Malaysia will continue to play a leading role
in building Asean as an asset class by working together with other
countries in the region to achieve Asean economic integration.
"There is much to be done: the current level of cross-border equity
and debt investment still remains low, with Malaysian, Singaporean and
Thai entities making just eight per cent of their equity and debt
off-shore investments in the region," he said.
"We would like new investors into the region to seriously consider
using Malaysia as your springboard into Asean: we have the experience,
connections and market infrastructure to support you," he said.
On gender equality in Malaysian business, Najib encouraged all
publicly listed and government-linked companies to make full voluntary
disclosure of female participation rates, from board level down, in the
interest of transparency.
Companies should use the incentives in the federal budget to offer
childcare facilities to ensure all Malaysian citizens have the same
opportunities to progress in their careers, he said.
Najib also urged employers to be committed to paying their workers a
living wage if Malaysia wishes to become a more developed and inclusive
society, saying there are still employees being paid below the minimum
wage despite their employers' huge profits.
"Last year, we introduced a minimum wage. This is critical not just
for stimulating domestic consumption but for fulfilling a pledge to the
Malaysian people," he said. – Bernama
(Source: The Sun Daily)
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