It used to be only select few Malaysian companies had the resources to venture abroad. Overseas ventures were a game only for the big players. Nowadays, going abroad is almost necessity for any Malaysian company looking for growth in profit. Malaysian companies are looking abroad to take advantage of the globalization following the rising labour costs and a limited domestic market – Malaysia only has 22 million people compared to countries like India and China which each has more than 1 billion people. There is also another factor to be considered. Liberalisation also forces open markets, giving more opportunities and competition around the globe in the spirit of globalization. Increasingly more foreign companies are coming to Malaysia hence the competition is also becoming stiffer in the domestic market.
The YTL Corporation Berhad celebrated its 52th anniversary in 2007, and in more five decades since its inception, has grown from a small construction firm into a sprawling business empire that features five subsidiaries governing various operations. Today, YTL Corporation Berhad is one of the largest conglomerates listed on the Bursa Malaysia boasting a track record of 55% compounded growth since its listing in 1986, and together with its five listed subsidiaries has a combined Market Capitalisation of about RM30 billion (US 9 billion ). The companies are YTL Corporation Bhd, YTL Power Bhd, YTL Land Bhd, YTL Cement Bhd and YTL e-solutions Bhd. The company was also listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange since 1996, the first Asian non-Japanese company to do so.
70% of the revenue from YTL Corp comes from outside Malaysia, therefore YTL Corp is pretty much a global player to reckon with. YTL Corp is an integrated infrastructure developer with core activities including power generation and transmission, owning and managing water and sewerage facilities, property and hotel development, cement manufacturing, construction contracting and e-commerce
References: Jason Lyon,“40 Richest Malaysian”, Malaysian Business (February 2007) Joanna Sze, “People, Companies & Sectors to Watch in 2007”, Malaysian Business (January 2007) Anita Gabriel, Cheryl Ambrose, “Star of Bukit Bintang”, The Edge, (August 6, 2001) FinanceAsia.com, “YTL completes Malaysia 's first placement of treasury shares” , (22 January 2007) “Empire builder: Tan Sri Francis Yeoh”, The Star Online (February 10, 2007) “Five foreign cities want to have Starhills too”, Business Times Malaysia, (22 March 2007) “New technology to clean up rivers”, The Star Online (June 10, 2007) www.ytl.com.my