The big picture discussions...............https://klse.i3investor.com/blogs/kianweiaritcles/220917.jsp

Its also called the middle income trap .  Look left, look right, no matter how you look, Malaysia has difficulty leaving the middle income trap for the next level. The word I choose to use is ' mediocre".  Malaysia is a mediocre country .  We cannot get back to the 1993 era because the world has changed a lot since then. Internationallly, there is a lot more competition. 

A SWOT analysis will show Malaysia right in the middle with some unique strengths and also weaknesses that cannot be solved.

In such a scenarion, every year there will be a handful of stocks that will do well and a lot don't. If you spread your money into 50 stocks, at best a mediocre result, and unlucky can lose 10% or more.  Because Bursa alone is so difficult , people like Philips and Icon have to go global to find out- performance.

It is not the fault of PH government that we are in this boat. This is the situation inherited from the BN government . 

The PH government led by Dr Mahathir very good already. Ultimately, it is what the people can do that matters. 

For a country with 32 milllion population, there is a shortage of successful businesses , innovative businesses to break out of the middle income trap.

As a country, we are so used to Alibaba businesses, government contracts, rent seekers, commission agents, monopoly businesses , property and banking.  How many innovative businesses we generated in last 10 years? In last 20 years?

In Bursa, in last 20 years, we have the government monopolies, some government contractors, property and banking magnates, ...and then, some glove makers, Vitrox and a few peers, oil and gas tycoons that mostly failed except Yinson, 

We have Serba which is a welcome change, We have Air Asia, We have Press Metal that did fantastic. What else we have ?

That is just not enouh to escape the middle income trap.

Bursa has tried its best. But the raw materials in the form of excelllent businesses/ businessmen  just isn't there.

What can be done? What to look out for?

continued..........

What can be done? What to look out for?

Look at the experience of Proton........China to the rescue. 

Yes, that will be true for any business to thrive. It will have to leverage on the rise of China.

Malaysian businesses have to understand China, do business with China, form JV with China, learn how and why China succeeded and capitalise on the 1.4 billion consumers in China. That is number one.

As investors, look for the China angle. 

China is already the economic power house.

 without a bull market, only people who are very selective can hope to make some money.