VIENTIANE: The ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) has outlined several key initiatives that will be highlighted during Malaysia’s chairmanship next year, including an initial public offering (IPO) framework for the 10-member bloc.
ASEAN-BAC Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Nazir Razak said the council’s proposal aims to encourage investment in the region, which has a population base of 680 million and a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$3.8 trillion in 2023.
ASEAN is currently the world’s fifth-largest economy.
“Currently, if we want to list a company, say, on Bursa Malaysia, we issue a prospectus and can only attract investments from Malaysians or institutions from Singapore, as well as international investors if allowed by their regulators.
“What we want is that in the future, when we list a company on Bursa (Malaysia), we can choose between a Malaysian prospectus or an ASEAN prospectus.
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“With an ASEAN prospectus, we can seek investment from anyone across the entire ASEAN population. That is something very tangible,“ he told Bernama in conjunction with the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and Related Summits in the capital of Laos.
Nazir, who is also the vice-chairman of ASEAN-BAC and will assume the chairmanship next year, said ASEAN-BAC will collaborate with the Securities Commission (SC) to introduce the ASEAN IPO initiative.
This idea was previously presented during the ASEAN-BAC meeting in Luang Prabang, Laos.
“It received positive feedback from member countries. However, there are complexities in terms of legal and domestic regulations, such as tax and foreign exchange regulations, as different countries have different rules.
“There’s a chance that not all countries can participate in the ASEAN IPO in the beginning, so maybe we can start with two nations first and expand the number of participating nations later,” he said.
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Aside from the ASEAN IPO, Nazir said ASEAN-BAC will also propose that all ASEAN member countries recognise the category known as ASEAN Business Entities (ABE) to promote companies that are neither purely local nor global in order to boost regional business.
He was previously reported as saying that once certified as an ABE, a company will be able to enjoy incentives and privileges offered by member countries, including greater market access.
Nazir added that among other things, ABE-certified companies will be able to conduct third-party outsourcing, such as information technology (IT) operations, in other ASEAN countries.
Meanwhile, in line with the Malaysia MADANI concept, which focuses on unity, inclusivity, and cooperation, ASEAN-BAC will also introduce corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related initiatives, he said.
According to him, the council will conduct a study to mandate that every corporate entity in the ASEAN community contribute to CSR initiatives.
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“Rules and regulations vary across countries. If we look at India, for example, every company is required to contribute one per cent (of their profits) to CSR initiatives.
“No ASEAN country has mandated this yet, and tax relief mechanisms differ from one country to another.
“Therefore, we want to conduct a study and present it to the governments of ASEAN member countries to change regulations so that corporations can be incentivised to contribute more to CSR,“ he said.
