KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 19): Bursa Malaysia and Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) will be co-hosting this year's 14th Invest Malaysia (IM2018) on Jan 23 and 24 here.

Themed "Connecting Strengths. Advancing Performance", IM2018 will showcase 61 Malaysian listed companies, ranging from large to mid cap companies with market capitalisation totalling RM767.6 billion.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be delivering the keynote address at the event, Bursa and Maybank said in a joint statement today.

They added that the event is expected to gather over 1,000 local and regional fund managers from Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, the US and the UK, with total estimated assets under management of US$17.2 trillion.

Notable conversationalists at this year's Invest Malaysia include Professor Stéphane Garelli, founder of IMD World Competitiveness Centre; Tan Sri Wahid Omar, group chairman of Permodalan Nasional Bhd; Datuk Seri Cheah Cheng Hye, chairman and co-chief investment officer of Value Partners; and Patrick Grove, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Catcha Group.

"This year's conference aims to connect these strengths and provide the impetus that will advance our performance and ensure that Malaysia remains a top investment and listing destination and solidify our position as a vibrant capital market," Bursa CEO Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan said in the statement.

Maybank's group president and CEO Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said the bank is expecting the economic strength of 2017 to sustain well into 2018 with market core earnings growth to resume.

"Malaysia's economic strength is built upon decades of growth-focused and transformative policies that have ensured the country's sustained competitiveness and economic robustness.

"These forward-leaning masterplans were crafted to capitalise on Malaysia's natural advantages while leveraging events that are shaping Asean and we are confident that investors will find it a compelling story when choosing their investment destination," he added.