ABSTRACT
In 1998, ethnic Chinese constituted about 28 per cent of Malaysia's almost 20 million multi-ethnic population. Indigenous Bumiputera (or ‘sons of the soil’), particularly the Malays, account for 61 per cent of the population, Indians 8 per cent, and other minor ethnic groups the remaining one per cent. In 1995, ethnic Chinese owned approximately 40.9 per cent of the total share capital of Malaysian companies, down from 45.5 per cent in 1990 (see Table 2.1). In spite of this fall of almost 5 percentage points in terms of their share of corporate equity between 1990 and 1995, the Chinese still own the largest amount of corporate assets among the major ethnic communities in Malaysia, almost double the volume of equity held by Bumiputeras and state institutions which totalled 20.6 per cent in 1995. Malaysia: Ownership of Share Capital (At Par Value) of Limited Companies, 1970, 1990, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref83">1995</xref> (percentages) https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table"> Ownership Group 1970 1990 1995 Bumiputera 2.4 19.3 20.6 Bumiputera Individuals & Institutions 1.6 14.2 18.6 Trust Agencies 0.8 5.1 2.0 Non-Bumiputera 28.3 46.8 43.4 Chinese 27.2 45.5 40.9 Indians 1.1 1.0 1.5 Others 0.3 1.0 Nominee Companies 6.0 8.5 8.3 Foreigners 63.4 25.4 27.7 Sources: Third Malaysia Plan 1976–80; Seventh Malaysia Plan 1996–2000
