Bumiputera firms have been urged to form smart partnerships with large international firms to raise their capacities for larger investments in the country’s economy.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk SK Devamany, said based on the world’s current economic climate, forming partnerships would be vital to ensure that there is a narrower gap between Bumiputera equity ownership and foreign investments in the local industries.
Out of the total investments of RM86.625 billion recorded from 2009 till February this year, foreign investments accounted for the majority of investments with 62 per cent stake.
“This percentage is just too big compared with the Bumiputera investments which amounts to around 14 per cent, non Bumiputera 20 per cent and government agencies four per cent,” he said when replying to a question from Senator Datuk Akbar Ali at the Dewan Negara sitting here yesterday.
Akbar wanted to know the value of investments and equities held by the Bumiputeras, non Bumiputeras and foreigners who have entered into the country’s economic ecosystem following the loosening of regulations by the Foreign Investment Committee. He also wanted to know what could be done to overcome the gap.
Devamany said the statistics also differed widely when compared with investments in the services sector where from 2009-2010, domestic sources took up 90 per cent of the total RM66.085 billion investments made in the sector.
He said the government had put in place various agenda to ensure that such a situation does not arise but before the issue
could be overcome, Bumiputera companies must also realise and accept the reality that in the increasingly competitive global economy, they would have to join in and become part of the global level industry players.
— Bernama