New department to replace Foreign Investment Committee

KUALA LUMPUR: The Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) has been disbanded effective yesterday and with it the 30% bumiputra equity requirement for listed companies, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

And while companies will still have to comply with Securities Commission’s 25% public spread requirement at the initial public offering (IPO) stage, of which half must be offered to bumiputras, this would be waived if there were insufficient bumiputra investors to buy the shares, he said.