KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed almost flat on Tuesday as buying interest rotated away from index heavyweights towards smaller-cap construction stocks, with sentiment affected by geopolitical uncertainty, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.39 of a point to 1,714.40 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79. The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the trading session. The broader market was almost evenly balanced, with decliners leading gainers 548 to 546, while 598 counters were unchanged, 1,107 were untraded and 25 were suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.13 billion units valued at RM3.14 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion on Monday.
As Malaysia gears up for Budget 2025 , all eyes are on the government's expected implementation of the Global Minimum Tax (GMT) , set to take effect on January 1, 2025 . This tax policy aligns with the OECD Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Model Rules under Pillar Two , aimed at curbing profit shifting by multinational enterprises (MNEs) to low-tax jurisdictions. The GMT sets a minimum tax rate of 15% for MNEs, and Malaysia plans to adopt a Domestic Top-Up Tax (DTT) to ensure compliance with these global tax rules. Potential Impact on Malaysia’s Investment Competitiveness While Malaysia has long been a competitive destination for investments, the introduction of GMT raises concerns about maintaining this edge. According to Soh Lian Seng , head of tax at KPMG in Malaysia , the country may lose appeal if alternative incentives or strategic tax reforms are not introduced. This sentiment echoes fears that MNEs benefiting from local incentives may relocate to countries offering mor...