PROFITS MADE ABROAD MUST BE RE-INVESTED IN M'SIA, LOCAL COMPANIES TOLD

By Nor Baizura Basri

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- Malaysian companies are encouraged to
invest abroad but the profit made must be re-invested in Malaysia to ensure
continuity in the country's economic growth, says International Trade and
Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed.

This was a natural phenomenon for local companies that have been successful
in Malaysia and are now keen to seek new and wider markets overseas, he said.

"We don't prevent Malaysian companies from investing overseas, but we hope
they will increase their invesments in Malaysia when they reap profits from
their foreign business ventures," he told Bernama when responding to a report by
KPMG LLP that Malaysian companies are among entities from emerging economies
buying corporate assets in the United States in the first half of this year.

Companies in the emerging and high-growth markets made 243 acquisitions in
developed economies in the first six months of 2010, up from 194 in the year
earlier, according to the KPMG study.

India was the top acquirer in emerging-to-developed (E2D) deals in the
study, bagging 50 acquisitions in the first half of 2010.

India was followed by Southeast Asia (47), China (39), Malaysia (30) and
Central America and the Caribbean (17) in the same period.

KPMG LLP is a global audit, tax and advisory firm providing services to
US-based companies in their pursuit for outbound investment opportunities in
high-growth and emerging markets.

Mustapa said Petronas, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Maybank are examples of
local companies that have invested substantially abroad and have repatriated
their profits for re-investment in Malaysia.

He said Petronas has the highest investment overseas and this strategy has
transformed the national oil corporation into Malaysia's top-notch company in
the international stage.

"Had Petronas not ventured out into business in foreign land, the company
would have remain only a small entity today and would not be able to contribute
significantly to the nation's prosperity and success," he said.

Mustapa said his ministry would pursue its mission to woo foreign
investments to Malaysia through trade and investment missions to advanced
countries this year.

The minister will lead a trade and investment mission to the United States
from Sept 17 to 26, starting from Atlanta, Philadelphia and ending in
Washington.
-- BERNAMA