Level playing ground? Not really, but the government has its reasons to allow Tesla and Starlink to exist in Malaysia as 100% foreign-owned entities, skipping local equity ownership rules. According to prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the decision was made after taking into account their future contributions to the country.
The PM said said in a written parliamentary reply yesterday that among the considerations were the organisational structure of Starlink, which operates on a global scale that requires a more effective decision-making process; status of ‘Malaysia Digital’ based on the Bill of Guarantees; and Starlink’s direct and indirect benefits in Malaysia.
The reply focused more on Elon Musk’s internet company. “Starlink services is suitable for use in the maritime industry as well as oil and gas, given the Starlink internet connection which is stable in areas far from the coast or in the middle of the sea, enabling ships to have all time high quality internet access,” Anwar said, reported by Malay Mail.
“Efficient internet access allows this industry to monitor operations more effectively, improve navigation security, as well as allowing remote control through effective automation system,” he added.
As for EV maker Tesla, the PM cum finance minister said the exemption was not new as the decision had already been made to approve 100% foreign ownership for new projects, project expansion or diversification projects for the manufacturing sector by existing and new companies starting from June this year.
He was replying to Larut MP Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, who asked the PM to explain why national economic sovereignty and a condition of local equity ownership were set aside, enabling companies like Tesla and Starlink 100% foreign ownership.
We’ve wrote about MITI’s BEV Global Leaders programme that gives Tesla franchise APs, letting it skip the requirement of having a company with bumiputera shareholding import cars for the marque. What does Malaysia get in return? Full story here.
Tesla Malaysia has so far launched the Model Y and more recently, the Model 3 ‘Highland’ facelift. Click on the links for more on the EVs.
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