CYBERJAYA: More companies should plan to be listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange as it grows bigger in size, in order to allow the rest of the country to share the wealth of the company.
National Entrepreneurship Institute (INSKEN) chief executive officer Muhd Firdaus Azharuddin said one of the programmes it carries out is to help companies change their business model and get listed on Bursa Malaysia.
“With the very tough economic situation currently, there has been a lot of sell offs and acquisitions,” he said, adding that many of these companies are national assets of sorts because they are involved in the strategic oiil and gas sector.
Firdaus said one of the reasons why this happened was because the companies did not want to undertake the due diligence necessary for listing on the stock market.
“However, only when you go for listing can you then allow the rest of the country the share in the wealth of the company, and other institutions and private investors can come in and invest in the company,” he told NST Business in an interview recently.
Firdaus cited Serba Dinamik as one of the companies that took up listing and managed to stay profitable despite the oil price downturn since June 2014.
To date, INSKEN has managed to carry out 1,109 programmes involving 28,330 participants from 2015 to 2017, signaling an uptrend in entrepreneurial awareness.
In 2017 alone, from a total of 11,571 participants and 841 programmes, INSKEN said there was a 10 per cent increase in revenue recorded from 325 out of 500 companies.
Firdaus said INSKEN has set the target of producing tangible results with numbers to show for its performance throughout the year.
“One of the challenges for us is to ensure that entrepreneurs do their homework before embarking on their business ventures and staying relevant.
“Moving forward, entrepreneurs must have the necessary training or know-how in the businesses they plan to carry out and surround themselves with people who know the business,” said Firdaus.
Other programmes carried out by INSKEN are business coaching, business enhancement plan, public outreach, start-up, scale-up and high-performing programmes as well as ecosystem enhancement.
The government’s strategic unit said it plans to advance and accelerate Bumiputera participation in the nation’s economy. It also caters to non-Bumiputera companies, but the take-up rate is still low currently.
Meanwhile, INSKEN will be hosting the 2nd Global Marketing Summit 2018 which will be held at the Grand Hyatt, Kuala Lumpur today.
Firdaus said entrepreneurship is going through a mini upheaval of sorts with many e-businesses trying to gain a foothold and traditional ones struggling to hold on.
“In light of the “New Malaysia” era, businesses too need to reinvent, re-energize and re-strategise to stay relevant in an ever more demanding marketplace – both terrestrial and virtual,” he said.
The Summit will see renowned speakers such as Rob Craven (sales advisor for Microsoft and Airbus); Vinita Bali (former marketing director for Coca-Cola & Cadbury); Ashraf Sinclair (actor & owner of TGI Fridays Indonesia) and Neelofa (founder of Naelofar Hijab, 2017 Forbes 30 under 30 Asia).
The speakers will share their experiences in approaching sales differently and effectively at the Summit, which will be invaluable for local entrepreneurs looking to take their own businesses to the next level.