Exodus of companies listed on KL Bursa Saham to other stock exchanges like Hong Kong

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Media Statement
by Dr Chen Man Hin
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(Seremban, Wednesday): The CEO of Bursa Saham, Datuk Yusli Mohamed Yusof in an interview, expressed concern at the growing number of listed companies going private or delisting to be prelisted on other stock exchanges, particularly in Hong Kong.

Big corporations like Parkson Retail Group Ltd have shifted to Hong Kong, while Maxis have been privatised.

He puts the cause to the low valuation of shares on the KL Bursa, compared to other exchanges. He is not able to put his finger on the cause of this discrepancy.

The CEO blames it on share analysts who decide what a company is worth. He said: “as soon you start valuing the companies lower than they should be, then people will start talking about privatising or thinking they should list in other markets.”

There are other possible reasons. One is Hong Kong market is internationalised and has a large clientele, and Hong Kong is the gateway to China.

Other reasons are because foreign investors are not putting their money into Malaysia because of the new economic policy with its 30% requirement for bumiputras and the perception of Malaysia as an Islamic State.

The Minister of Finance should pay attention to this problem, as it is important that the Bursa stay strong in order to attract investment capital to promote the growth of the national economy.

(12/12/2007)