How bumi equity ownership is calculated
by Pauline Puah
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
" T H E methodology used b y the govern-
ment to calculate the bumiputra corpo-
rate equity ownership takes into account
several main e c o n o m i c indicators.
In his winding-up speech at the c o m -
mittee stage of Budget 2007, Deputy
Minister in the P r i m e 'Minister's
Department Datuk Abdul Raman Suliman
said the calculation includes:
» Last submitted annual statement of the
c o m p a n i e s registered with C o m p a n i e s
Commission of Malaysia (CCM);
» Equity o w n e r s h i p f r o m public listed
companies;
» Bumiputra-interest institutions such as
Tabung Haji Board,.Armed Forces Fund
Board and Cooperative Development
Department.
» Equilty ownership by related fund agen-
cies s u c h as permodalan Nasional Bhd
(PNB),Majlis Amanah s a h a m Rakyat and
State Economic Development Bodies;
» Trust fund shares from the securities
commission and trust fund management
companies such as P N B ; and
» Economic Planning Unit's (EPU) studies
on ownership interest through nominee
companies.
He said information on the shares in
C C M ' s registered companies is the main
information in estimating equity owner-
ship according t o e t h n i c groups.
"information used by EPU from c o m
pany annual reports, a m o n g others are
type of companies, companies activities,
race, citizenship, number of shares held
by the shareholders.
"The companies' statement also con-
tains lists of o w n e r s and number of
shares owned by non-individuals such as
Sdn Bhd, public-listed c o m p a n i e s , gov-
ernment agencies and s o o n . "
The m e t h o d o l o g y of the bumiputra
corporate equity has caused a wide pub-
lic debate w h e n the media highlighted a
finding by the A s i a n Strategy and
Leadership institute (Asli) that bumiputra
c o r p o r a t e e q u i t y had a c h i e v e d a b o u t
45%.
The official figure of the b u m i p u t r a
c o r p o r a t e equity o w n e r s h i p under the
Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) is 18.9%.
Abdul Raman said par value w a s used
in the calculation because it could give a
general view on the initial paid-up capi-
tal for the w h o l e corporate sector.
"Market values can be used but only
for listed companies. For unlisted c o m -
panies, m a r k e t v a l u e s c a n n o t be used
b e c a u s e they are always changing and
influenced by factors that do not reflect
the true value of the shares and compa-
nies' performance, such as window
dressing.
However, he said to improve the
m e t h o d o l o g y , the g o v e r n m e n t will
always review it from time to time.
He also noted that Malaysian c o m p a -
nies abroad w e r e not included in the cal-
culation.
Q u i z z e d b y o p p o s i t i o n M P s , Abdul
Raman said based on the composition of
bumiputra in the country, the objective of
the bumiputra equity ownership should
be 60%.