Malaysia Unveils Plan For Otc Exchange

Malaysia yesterday unveiled plans for an over-the-counter (OTC) stock market that will provide capital for high-technology firms with no track record.

Modelled on electronic markets such as Nasdaq in the United States, the Malaysian Exchange of Securities Dealing & Auto-mated Quotation (Mesdaq) was expected to be launched before the end of the year, finance minister Anwar Ibrahim said.

It is imperative that all parties ensure the market is up and running before the end of the year, Anwar said in a speech on Tuesday at an OTC conference.

He said details of the framework for the new market had been approved by the government and would be announced later.

 

He said Malaysian and foreign-owned companies, businesses within Malaysia and outside could be listed on Mesdaq. This includes 100 percent foreign-owned companies in line with the MSC incentives, he said.

The MSC, or Multimedia Super Corridor, conceived by Prime Minister Mahathir Moha-mad, is a proposed 15 by 40 km (nine by 25 mile) corridor stretching south from Kuala Lumpur to a new international airport and new administrative capital, Putrajaya.