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At the Dewan Rakyat: Bumiputera ownership of shares in companies on Bursa Malaysia not representative of complete picture

KUALA LUMPUR, TUE.:

Non-Bumiputeras held RM100.4 billion or 46.91 per cent of shares while foreigners owned the balance of RM35.2 billion (16.45 per cent).

There were 646 companies on the main board and 268 companies on the second board. Of the total number of companies listed on both boards, only 186 were Bumiputera-owned.

Dr Awang cautioned that the figure constituted just a small amount of the nation’s economic pie.

"Although the listing of Bumiputera equity at Bursa Malaysia has exceeded 30 per cent, we do not know of subsequent transactions after that. At the end of the day, we do not know the ultimate ownership.

"This is why the Government’s methodology on Bumiputera equity is based on the total number of companies registered in Malaysia and their paid-up capital," he told reporters.

He said listed companies did not represent the entire picture of the nation’s economy as some private companies opted not to be public-listed while some listed companies had gone private due to various business considerations.

The issue of Bumiputera equity arose last month when the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) stated that Bumiputera equity ownership may be as high as 45 per cent. The findings were questioned by the Government, which said its more exhaustive study showed that Bumiputera corporate ownership stood at 18.9 per cent.

Earlier, Dr Awang told Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (BN-Gua Musang) that according to records from the Companies Commission, 717,935 companies were registered in Malaysia as of Dec 31, last year.

Of these, 172,568 or 24 per cent were Bumiputera-owned. Over the same period, the paid-up capital of Bumiputera equity ownership stood at 18.9 per cent.