Bursa Malaysia, the world’s 3rd largest IPO venue this year, together with OSK Investment Bank, today presented the Invest Malaysia capital market roadshow themed Capitalise on ASEAN’s Multinational Marketplace to Hong Kong fund managers.
This is the third year Invest Malaysia was held in Hong Kong, which garnered a strong response from 61 Hong Kong fund managers that met with 13 large and mid-cap Malaysian companies.
Dato’ Tajuddin Atan, Bursa Malaysia Chief Executive Officer said, “The Invest Malaysia Hong Kong roadshow is an ideal platform for us to showcase the strength and depth of our market to Hong Kong fund managers. The turnout of 61 fund managers for this one-day event is indicative of the interest we are seeing in our market this year. With 3 of the world’s top 10 IPO listed on Bursa Malaysia so far this year, we are capturing the world’s attention and Hong Kong fund managers are showing greater interest in our market this year.”
Malaysia is also proving to be the ASEAN marketplace for Islamic Finance. Already a world leader in Sukuk issuance, Bursa Malaysia is set to list one of the region’s first Exchange Traded Sukuk later this month. And with 88% of listed companies on Bursa Malaysia Shariah compliant, Malaysia continues to earn the respect as one of the world’s leading Islamic finance hubs.
“We are intending to list the first ASEAN Exchange Traded Bond & Sukuk that will provide retail access to Sukuk. The expected value of RM300 million (USD90 million), would be issued by DanaInfra Nasional Berhad, a state-owned company to undertake the financing of the mass rapid transit project in Malaysia,” said Dato’ Tajuddin.
Fund managers also gained an exclusive opportunity to meet with the Deputy Minister of the Malaysian International Trade and Industry, Dato’ Mukhriz Mahathir to gain first-hand insight and updates on Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) results and Malaysia’s FDI growth and resilience as well as the growing role Malaysia’s companies are assuming as regional market players in ASEAN.
Dato’ Mukhriz stated, “Malaysia launched the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), our nation’s catalyst for economic change in October 2010. The ETP is now in its second year of implementation. As at 13 September 2012, the ETP has secured over RM200.89 billion (USD$65.18 billion) committed investments from 141 projects in 12 focus areas. We are well on our way to ensuring a highly business friendly environment to enable businesses including by global multinationals to flourish in Malaysia. Recently the ranking of 12th position out of 185 nations for Ease of Doing Business in the World Bank Doing Business Report 2013 is a great testament to the success our transformation programmes have been achieving.
Dato’ Tajuddin further explained, “Malaysia’s transformation towards a high income nation has created a fertile ground for our listed companies to transform into regional and global multinationals. Nearly 40% of FBM KLCI revenues stem from abroad while 27% of FTSE ASEAN 40 constituents are Malaysian companies.“
U Chen Hock, OSK Investment Bank Chief Executive Officer indicated that the fund managers at Invest Malaysia this year are taking a serious look at Malaysia as our market has performed well in the midst of a challenging global financial marketplace. “The Hong Kong fund managers are taking note of the opportunities available in ASEAN. With 600 million people, cross border collaboration increasing day-by-day and strong GDP growth, ASEAN is an exciting marketplace.”
U added that this year we have decided to showcase a number of exciting mid to large cap companies from a variety of industries including plantation, healthcare, consumer and education.
“When investors buy into Malaysian companies, they are not just buying into the growth of Malaysia but also benefiting from its regional, and in some cases, global exposure. As a Malaysian-grown, regional investment bank, we are able to provide companies the regional footprint they need from the centre of ASEAN,” said U.
Industry experts underscore Malaysia’s business environment as conducive for expansion, with internationally recognised mechanisms in place to encourage free-flow of trade and to ensure the delivery of global excellence. The World Bank Doing Business Report 2013 recently upgraded Malaysia by 6 rungs to 12th place for Ease of Doing Business while AT Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Index highlighted Malaysia as 10th in the world for FDI Confidence. Malaysia is ranked 5th Most Trustworthy Financial Market for Investor Confidence by the World Economic Forum and 10th in the World for FDI Confidence by the AT Kearney FDI Confidence Index.
SOURCE / Asean Exchanges