Photo of the Senari Port in Kuching.
BINTULU (Sept 23): The enforcement of a 51 per cent Bumiputera ownership requirement for freight forwarding companies has been postponed by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to next December, according to a report by Free Malaysia Today (FMT).
“The finance minister has agreed to extend the duration for companies which are local Customs agents to comply with the Bumiputera participation (rule) to Dec 31, 2022,” said Treasury’s tax division secretary Che Nazli Jaapar, in a letter sighted by FMT.
The letter, which was dated yesterday, was addressed to secretaries-general and directors of various ministries and agencies such as the Customs department
It was also sent to freight associations and companies.
The association of freight forwarders yesterday urged the government to clarify its position on Bumiputera equity in logistics companies, with only months left before an end-of-year deadline on Dec 31.
In a letter dated Sept 18 to the government, Federation of Malaysian Freight Forwarders president Alvin Chua said the finance ministry had stated in January that all Customs brokerage licence holders must comply with Bumiputera equity requirements by Dec 31, but did not set any figure.
Chua said the expected 51 per cent Bumiputera equity rule would see all such companies being taken over by Bumiputeras, and those without such licences are not allowed to carry out transactions with the Customs department such as the clearance of goods.
Under a 2018 review, companies whose licences were registered before 1976 did not have a Bumiputera equity requirement, while a 30 per cent quota was imposed on those registered between 1976 and 1990.
Chua said a 51 per cent Bumiputera requirement was required for licences registered after 1990 – the year the Bumiputera equity policy was first implemented.
However, he added, integrated international logistics service providers do not need to have any Bumiputera equity.
Another review was set to be held last year but it never materialised, leading to uncertainty for freight forwarders who, Chua said, were told by certain agencies that they had to comply with a 51 per cent Bumiputera ownership requirement by Dec 31.
Chua, as quoted by FMT, hailed the finance ministry’s decision and highlighted how this would help the logistics’ industry, which he described as being at the ‘forefront’ of economy and trade.
He said that while people have to go through logistics companies when they want to import or export goods, the spike in freight rates during the Covid-19 pandemic meant many industry players have had to take out ‘millions of ringgit’ worth of loans.
“We’ve put so much money into our companies and now they want us to comply like this. We need time to find investors, it’s not easy,” he said.
In a previous letter to international trade and industry minister Azmin Ali dated Sept 18, Chua said the looming Dec 31 deadline meant many companies would have no choice but be compelled to sell 51 per cent equity to Bumiputera investors, going on to question whether there would be any such investors in the first place.