CAPITAL MARKETS - MALAYSIA - M'sia's capital markets to double to S$1.9 trillion by 2020: Najib

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's capital markets are expected to more than double in size to RM4.5 trillion (S$1.9 trillion) by 2020, Prime Minister Najib Razak said yesterday as he announced a new 10-year blueprint to boost competitiveness.

"With greater internationalisation, this figure could increase to as much as RM5.8 trillion over the same period," Mr Najib said in his keynote address at the Invest Malaysia conference, an annual gathering of Malaysia's top corporate leaders. (full story)


The Malaysian capital markets are now worth RM2 trillion, said Mr Najib, who is also Finance Minister.

Under the capital markets master plan, the government will make changes to the regulatory framework for fund raising and product creation, among other things, and allocate more funds to develop the venture capital and private equity industry, he said.

"And to boost large-scale transactions, access to the bond market will also be widened, strengthening investor appetite for a wide range of debt products and credit risks, expanding participation of the investment management industry and retail investors in fixed income investments, enhancing the market infrastructure," Mr Najib added.

He also said the internationalisation of the capital market would be a necessary pre-requisite to strengthening Malaysia's role as an Islamic capital market hub. The Islamic capital market in Malaysia is set to increase almost threefold to RM2.9 trillion by 2020 from RM1.1 trillion in 2010, he said.

Mr Najib also gave more details of the government's plan to divest or pare its holdings in state-linked companies. The move is aimed at increasing liquidity in the country's stock market and attracting more foreign investment while also raising capital to fund the country's ambitious economic transformation plan, which seeks to raise Malaysia's average per capita income to US$15,000 (S$18,850) by 2020 from about US$7,000 at present.

Mr Najib said the listing of the federal land authority Felda Global's sugar refining unit, Malayan Sugar Manufacturing Co, would likely take place in July.

He added that Khazanah Nasional and other state-owned firms would divest stakes in at least 10 non-core assets by the end of the year. Dow Jones

Source : http://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC110413-0000432/Msias-capital-markets-to-double-to-S$1,9-trillion-by-2020--Najib - April 13, 2011