Terlebih dahulu, bagi pihak Suruhanjaya Sekuriti (SC), saya ingin merakamkan ucapan selamat datang kepada YBhg Dato' Mustapa, para penceramah dan peserta seminar pada pagi ini untuk bersama-sama menjayakan seminar yang telah dirangka khusus bagi usahawan dan syarikat Bumiputera berpotensi. Saya juga ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Bursa Saham Kuala Lumpur dan organisasi-organisasi Bumiputera yang telah bekerjasama dengan Unit Bumiputera Suruhanjaya Sekuriti dan SIDC dalam menganjurkan program latihan ini. Untuk pengetahuan YBhg. Dato' Mustapa dan semua para peserta, pihak SC dan beberapa organisasi-organisasi Bumiputera, telah bersetuju dalam satu sesi dialog di SC pada tahun lepas, agar usaha-usaha latihan dan promosi ke arah peningkatan penyertaan Bumiputera dalam pasaran modal dibuat secara kolektif, sebagaimana seminar yang dianjurkan pada hari ini.
YBhg Dato' Mustapa dan para hadirin sekalian, izinkan saya meneruskan ucapan pembukaan ini dalam Bahasa Inggeris.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The organisation of this seminar signifies the SC's commitment in supporting the national policies towards building and sustaining effective Bumiputera participation and ownership in the capital market and the leading sectors of the economy in general. It is for this reason, the Bumiputera Unit of the Securities Commission was established to facilitate and promote Bumiputera participation in the Malaysian capital market. The Bumiputera Unit is also given the task to cooperate with relevant industry groups and Bumiputera organisations to encourage effective participation of Bumiputera in the capital market and further enhance the level of professionalism of Bumiputera participants through training and education.
This seminar is also timely given the positive outlook of the local IPO market spurred by a couple of mega offerings recently which have generated significant investors' interest both locally and at the international front. The Commission is also pleased to see more agencies and organizations representing the interest of Bumiputera in the corporate sector, announcing their plans to ensure higher number of Bumiputera companies list on the KLSE. These plans and efforts would certainly help in strengthening the position of Bumiputera companies in terms of ownership and participation in the capital market, as well as bringing back the glow of IPO from the gloom that was experienced last year.
In line with the Commission's move towards creating a facilitative and market-based regulatory regime as well as to have no more regulation than necessary, efforts to review and revise some of the relevant guidelines to further facilitate listings, fund-raising and restructuring by companies have been stepped up. Some of the major amendments in relation to IPO and listings include revision to the historical profit-performance requirement and further flexibilities for Government-owned companies seeking listing, flexibilities in fixing the par value of the companies ordinary shares and several other revisions regarding the structure of public offering. As such, companies which have the potential and means to consider listing on the Main Board and Second Board of the KLSE should capitalize on all the flexibilities given to ensure a successful attempt on IPO.
For enterprises with innovative ideas but little or no track record, venture capital would be the ideal source of funding, as it is flexible financing that can link the gap between bank financing and equity. And the next step forward for these high-growth technological companies, together with the venture capital company as the promoter, would be to consider MESDAQ listing. The establishment of MESDAQ was meant to address the need for competitive forms of financing for small and medium-sized companies as well as the need for a viable exit mechanism for venture capitalists with investments in these companies. For this reason, MESDAQ listing requirements have been made less stringent to suit the typical start-up companies. There is also an alternative method of fund raising through the Islamic capital market, which could be attractive to Bumiputera companies and entrepreneurs. The Islamic capital market has claimed its own niche in the market for both the capital seekers and providers. It is hoped that the Bumiputera market participants in Malaysia will proactively support, respond and work together in realizing the potential of Islamic capital market and to establish Malaysia as an international Islamic capital market center.
Nevertheless, I must stress that the Commission has always applied meritocracy in our consideration, where all parties are treated the same in terms of applying the particular rules and regulations. The hurdles in capital market participation have not been lowered for Bumiputera, be it when listing a company or for licence application by remisiers and dealers. What the Commission does is to provide extra tuition and encouragement to Bumiputera capital market participants and to better equip them in facing the responsibilities and challenges of the industry. The SC also tries to make it less costly for Bumiputera companies to enter the capital market and has persuaded KLSE and MESDAQ to offer discounts.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Bumiputera ownership of share capital in the corporate sector forms the basis of measurement of an equitable society as aspired by the Government. To achieve this, the Government has called for coordinated and collaborative efforts from all sectors to assist Bumiputera to participate effectively in the corporate sector. Bumiputera companies on the other hand, must strengthen themselves by focusing on their core activities, taking a longer term perspective of their investments, improve efficiency and productivity as well as aspire to achieve a higher standard of professionalism and maintain their capability and integrity.
This seminar, I believe, will be a practical and useful one for all of you who have come here to gain knowledge and a better understanding of the opportunities and pitfalls in the capital market. We have with us, today and tomorrow, a line-up of distinguished speakers from the professional and corporate sectors. They are all experts with a great deal of experience behind them and they are here in the SC to share their knowledge. We will hear of their experiences, their learned opinions and unique perspectives, both macro and micro, both domestic and international. We will hear the challenges they face, their business modalities and solutions as well as their ideas and visions. I hope all of you will actively participate in the discussions and leave this seminar with deeper insights of the capital market and its potential impact on building successful businesses in Malaysia.
Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan,
Saya bagi pihak Suruhanjaya Sekuriti ingin merakamkan setinggi penghargaan kepada YBhg Dato' Mustapa kerana dapat bersama kita bagi menyampaikan ucaptama beliau pada pembukaan seminar pagi ini. Kita amat berbangga ke atas usaha gigih beliau menerajui NEAC bagi merangka dan melaksana polisi-polisi Kerajaan dalam usaha memulihkan ekonomi negara ke paras sedia ada. Seperti yang kita semua sedia maklum, NEAC telah memberi sokongan yang padu dalam memastikan tadbir-urus dan tanggungjawab korporat diberi kepentingan yang tinggi untuk memastikan pengurusan sektor swasta yang berjaya dalam medan persaingan yang sama rata.
Akhir sekali, kepada semua para peserta seminar, terima kasih kerana meluangkan masa untuk menimba pengetahuan dalam seminar ini dan diharapkan bahawa peluang yang ada digunakan untuk menjawab apa-apa kemusykilan berkenaan dengan isu-isu dan perkara yang melibatkan pasaran modal.
Sekian, wassalamualaikum w.b.
