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The Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Mosti) is set to collaborate with Bursa Malaysia to push the growth of startups and promote innovation within the country. In an announcement at Dewan Rakyat, Minister Chang Lih Kang unveiled this initiative, which aims to strengthen the support for local startups along their funding journey.
Mosti’s role in this partnership will involve providing Bursa Malaysia with market insights related to the Malaysian startup ecosystem. These insights will aid in the early identification of promising companies with the potential to be listed on the stock exchange for further innovation and economic growth in Malaysia.
Minister Chang Lih Kang highlighted Mosti’s strategy to propel Malaysia closer to the government’s ambitious target of ranking among the top 30 countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII) by 2025, as articulated in the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP). The new partnership is expected to support the program.
As of the recent GII rankings, spanning 2022 and 2023, Malaysia maintained its position at 36th among 132 nations—however, progress is reflected in the GII score, which rose from 38.7 to 40.9.
By promoting an environment conducive to innovation, the collaboration intends to create opportunities for startups to flourish, thus enabling Malaysia to edge closer to its goal of a prominent presence on the global innovation stage.
“Among Asian countries, Malaysia remains in second place behind Singapore (which ranked 7th),” Chang Lih Kang said.
Malaysia has paced in the Global Innovation Index (GII) rankings as the second-highest performing country among the ASEAN nations, with Singapore holding the lead in the 7th place.
Minister Chang Lih Kang, who represents Tanjong Malim in the Malaysian Parliament, underlined various strategic initiatives to elevate Malaysia’s standing in the GII rankings.
These measures are expected to reinforce innovation commercialization, formulating a National Planet Health Action Plan. With this, the ministry aims to address environmental, biodiversity, and climate change-related health challenges, promoting greater private sector involvement in research, development, innovation, and commercialization.
Additionally, it proposes establishing a specialized committee dedicated to Science, Technology, and Innovation Talent.
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