The major shareholder of SWS is its executive chairman Tan Sri Tan King Tai, who owns a direct stake of 9.47% and an indirect stake of 17.47%. The other substantial shareholders are Teoh Han Chuan and Datuk Seri Serm Juthamongkhon with a 6.86% stake and 4.98% respectively.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG) hopes the capital gains tax (CGT) will not be introduced in the near term as it will further dampen the performance of Bursa Malaysia, said Chief Executive Officer Devanesan Evanson.
He also stressed that the introduction of the tax on capital gains would be counter productive as the government had plans to reduce shares owned by government-linked investment companies (GLICs).
“If they introduce the capital gain tax now, it would affect the market, which is now trading in a bearish mode, which will subsequently bring down the values of shares,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Global Ethics Breakfast Event today.
Asked on the suitable time for the capital gains tax introduction, Devanesan said the government could revisit the idea later after the local market had stabilised.
“Not now, but maybe after the government completes the debt rationalisation plan,” he added.
Commenting on the external factors, he noted that Malaysia had always been exposed to external factors, however, these factors were beyond the government's control. Therefore, they were not significant in the decision to implement the tax.
The government has previously hinted that new taxes would be introduced, which saw the market speculating on three potential taxes, namely capital gains tax, inheritance tax and tax on the digital economy.
The government had also set up a Tax Reform Committee on Sept 12 to look at the current tax structure and how to broaden the tax base.
Apart from that, Devanesan also urged the government to reduce its shareholdings in listed companies to give way to foreign investors.
“There are very little free float of shares in the market, which makes Malaysia more unattractive to the investors, hence, by letting go of these shares, it allows the market to be more liquid,” he added.
It was reported that seven GLICs, including Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Employees Provident Fund and Lembaga Tabung Haji, control important companies in the economy.
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