Invest Malaysia Hong Kong 2010, aimed to showcase Malaysia's attractive investment opportunities, gave local Hong Kong fund managers and investors a new perspective on Malaysia as they learned about the country's capital market depth and liberalisation, as well as the transformation programmes initiated by the Malaysian government at the Invest Malaysia roadshow here today.
Invest Malaysia, spearheaded by Bursa Malaysia, one of the largest bourses in Asia, in partnership with OSK Investment Bank, saw a gathering of Malaysia's corporate champions representing various business sectors, key regulators and policy makers, to showcase how Malaysian companies are increasingly strengthening their regional footprint and how Malaysia is gaining recognition as an attractive investment destination in the region.
Dato' Yusli Mohamed Yusoff, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia said, "I am pleased to note the healthy interest in our market from the fund managers, namely the family and institutional fund managers that were here today. The sessions that we had with them have resulted in greater understanding and appreciation of our capital market reforms and liberalisation measures. Coupled with the exposure to well-run Malaysian companies that have become regional leaders in Southeast Asia, we hope that Hong Kong based fund managers will continue to participate in our capital market's growth opportunities."
Malaysia was ranked 4th in the world for investor protection in 2010 by the World Economic Forum in The Global Competitiveness Report. A further boost to Malaysia's standing as an attractive investment destination was underscored by the recent country classification upgrade to Advanced Emerging market status from that of Secondary Emerging market.
Mr. Jamie Perrett, Director, Index Research at FTSE Group says, "Numerous structural changes have been implemented in the Malaysian market in recent years. Following the changes, and an assessment against a range of transparent and publicly available country classification criteria, FTSE is upgrading Malaysia to Advanced Emerging status in June 2011. This promotion shows the encouraging progress taking place to make the market more attractive to foreign investors."
"This is a clear recognition of the progress of Malaysia's capital market and a sign to the world that Malaysia is serious in its commitment towards capital market development," added Dato' Yusli.While the capital market presentations were an eye-opener for many investors who attended the roadshow, the limelight was claimed by Senator Dato' Seri Idris Jala, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Malaysia and the CEO of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU), a unit tasked with reforming the social and economic performance of Malaysia.
In effect, Senator Dato' Seri Idris Jala, who was the Keynote Speaker at Invest Malaysia Hong Kong, was instrumental in transforming Malaysia's image in the minds of the local fund managers and investors, as he conveyed the government transformation programmes which have been designed to propel Malaysia towards becoming a developed, high income nation by 2020.
Investors were especially interested with the government's Economic Transformation Programme that is designed to bring about robust investment opportunities as it rolls out its 131 entry point projects (EPP) across 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEA), which were jointly identified by the public and private sectors. The EPPs concretely outline actions required to grow the Malaysian economy and the NKEAs are drivers of economic activities that have the potential to directly and materially contribute a quantifiable amount of economic growth to the economy.
Sam Chin, Regional Head of Research, OSK Investment Bank said, "OSK is proud to partner Bursa Malaysia in this effort to showcase Malaysia to Hong Kong investors, the many opportunities in the Malaysian capital markets. Malaysia has always benefited from its location as the heart of the ASEAN region. There is no doubt that this factor has been instrumental in the success of a lot of Malaysian companies who are able to tap into the rapid growth and opportunities in this region."
He added, "Coupled with the abundance of natural resources and a conducive business environment, the Malaysian companies showcased in this roadshow have thrived and expanded their reach beyond Malaysia's shores. When investors buy into Malaysian companies, they are not just buying into the growth from Malaysia but also benefiting from its regional, and in some cases, global exposure."
Malaysia is the 66th largest country by size with 28 million people, and is the 30th largest and the 10th most competitive economy in the world. Similar to Hong Kong, Malaysia adopts a British-based regulatory framework. Together with its well-established legal system, investors can enjoy a safe and familiar business environment when investing in the country.