Malaysia Must Nurture Tech Giants To Become ASEAN MNCs - Liew Chin Tong

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- Malaysia must strive to nurture more technology (tech)-driven companies that can grow into ASEAN-based multinational corporations (MNCs) and eventually establish a global footprint, said Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong.

He said that while there is often talk of supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in practice, more efforts are needed to develop local champions and create the region’s technology-based MNCs.

“We often also talk about helping SMEs, but in actual practice, we also help foreign MNCs. Yet there is a gap where we do not fill -- we are not doing enough to create Malaysian and ASEAN technology-based MNCs,” he said in his keynote address at the SIDC-CASI Sustainable and Responsible Investment Conference 2025 today. 

Liew said that the capital market must begin to view the future of Malaysian companies and their roles from a fresh perspective.

“It is time for us to be bold to shape the capital market and the region, if not the world, with new ideas, ideas that will create sustainable economies and societies where people are prosperous and fulfilled -- some forms of a MADANI society,” he added.

He also said Malaysia cannot continue to rely on the United States as the consumer of last resort, and therefore must diversify its export markets. 

However, he stressed that diversification alone is not enough if the rest of the world is not wealthy enough to consume goods from Malaysia.

“In order for our produce to be consumed, we have to ensure that there are consumers, and if there are none, we have to create them by making our people richer and becoming a middle-class society, and hoping that ASEAN will grow richer too,” he added.

Organised jointly by the Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC) and the Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI), the three-day conference kicked off at the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) today.

The event brought together more than 300 local and international delegates under the theme “Shaping the Future of ASEAN Business in Sustainability.”

A key highlight of the event was the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between SIDC and CASI, formalising a long-term collaboration to advance sustainable finance education and talent development across ASEAN and other developing regions.

SIDC, in a statement, stated that the MoU outlines a strategic framework for academic and professional cooperation, focusing on mutually beneficial areas and enabling future joint initiatives to support capacity-building in sustainable finance, particularly within emerging markets.

In conjunction with the conference, SIDC also launched the Certified Capital Market Professional in Sustainable and Responsible Investment 2 (CCMP-SRI 2), a 12-week advanced certification programme for mid- to senior-level professionals.

-- BERNAMA