KUALA LUMPUR: Any bumiputera company, including companies that have never been involved in automotive activities, can apply to be appointed as an Open AP company to engage in vehicle importation and sales activities in Malaysia, effective July 1.
The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) said the move is in line with MITI's efforts to continue to increase inclusiveness and transparency in the Open AP application process.
"The implementation of this policy is expected to attract more bumiputera companies to engage in the automotive industry. The increase in the number of companies will make this segment more competitive," the ministry said in a statement today.
For bumiputera companies that are interested, MITI said the main conditions are 'sendirian berhad' status, 100 per cent bumiputera ownership, have a minimum paid-up capital of RM1 million and be in operation for at least two years.
Therefore, MITI invites interested and eligible bumiputera companies to apply with the guidelines, application form and checklist which can be consulted at https://www.miti.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/3796.
MITI added that the government's main objective is to continue empowering the bumiputera socio-economic agenda by giving more competitive bumiputera entrepreneurs the opportunity to be involved in the automotive sector.
According to the ministry, the Open AP policy implemented since 1970 has successfully produced viable bumiputera companies, not only in the segment of importing and selling vehicles, but also in key activities along the supply chain such as after-sales service, insurance and logistics.
The policy is one of the policies related to bumiputera that is still maintained until now and is important to achieve the target of 30 per cent ownership of bumiputera equity in the national economy as outlined under the New Economic Policy. - Bernama
