Anwar calls for mid-tier listed companies to expand regionally
The prime minister said Bursa Malaysia should help promising businesses grow, while companies need to strengthen their competitiveness abroad.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has urged Malaysia’s mid-tier listed companies to pursue regional growth, saying Bursa Malaysia Bhd should help businesses that have remained small realise their potential.
Speaking on Oct 29 at a gala dinner marking Bursa Malaysia’s 50th anniversary, Anwar said corporate expansion was expected to generate more quality jobs and broaden Malaysians’ participation in economic progress. Anwar also holds the finance portfolio.
He urged Malaysian businesses to undertake higher-value activities in semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and digital technology, alongside efforts to become more competitive internationally.
Anwar also stressed that market confidence depended on strong institutions, fair rules and honesty in dealings involving companies and investors. He said sound businesses should have fair access to capital, while people investing their savings needed to trust the institutions behind the market.
In his welcoming remarks, Bursa Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Abdul Farid Alias said maintaining confidence was a responsibility spanning the exchange’s functions as market operator, frontline regulator and listed company.
Farid said capital-market financing had supported businesses and infrastructure, including transport, electricity, water and buildings. Such investments supported employment and livelihoods while giving investors a share in Malaysian companies’ growth, he added.
