KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Finance (MOF) is exploring ways to create a pathway for more semiconductor-related companies, both foreign direct investment (FDI)-linked and local firms, to be listed on Bursa Malaysia, said its Deputy Minister Liew Chin Tong.
Liew said this is because the stock market currently does not fully reflect the country’s industrial strength and capabilities, as Malaysia remains heavily dependent on an FDI-driven model.
"It has always been about foreign capital coming into the country, but not enough of it is circulated or recycled domestically,” he said in his keynote address at the Affin Market Outlook 2026 here today.
Liew said that creating a path for more semiconductor firms to list is needed to move forward in building a stronger economy and market, especially amid an artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
This is because, he said, Malaysia already has strong capabilities in the semiconductor value chain, particularly in equipment and automation suppliers, which form an important part of the industry.
"So if we talk about supply chain resilience (and) about riding the industrial wave and ensuring that capital is circulated, then we can build a mini-Korea or mini-Taiwan within our capital market and our industry,” he said.
Liew added that beyond industrial development, Malaysia must also focus on building "secure people” by addressing jobs, wages, housing and urban development, to ensure Malaysians are economically confident and able to participate in the country’s next phase of growth.
Speaking separately at a fireside chat titled "Malaysia’s Response to the Global Energy Crisis: Build Back Better,” moderated by The Edge assistant editor Emir Zainul, the deputy finance minister said Malaysia’s semiconductor sector sits in the "indispensable middle” of the global supply chain.
He noted that as Western economies diversify away from China, Malaysia, along with Singapore and Vietnam, is among the countries capable of partially substituting China’s role in the semiconductor and AI ecosystem.
"When supply chains diversify away from China, the question is what replaces it. In the global context, only countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam are positioned to absorb parts of that ecosystem,” he added. - Bernama
