The number of IPOs expected on Bursa Malaysia in the second half of 2018 means the total from last year is likely to be beaten.
In 2017 the market saw 13 new IPOs, which raised RM21.9 bn ($5.4 bn). Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan will not reveal the exact number of IPOs the exchange is targeting for 2018, but is upbeat.
‘We are targeting some IPOs especially from our ACE Market, and some from the main market as well,’ he says in a statement yesterday announcing the exchange’s financial results for the second quarter. ‘Up to June 30, there have been 11 IPOs, which raised around RM2 bn.’
Tajuddin says companies seeking listings this year have taken a ‘wait-and-see approach’, given the uncertainties of external factors such as the ongoing US trade war and, on the local front, the elections and subsequent policy direction from the new Pakatan Harapan government.
‘Basically, there was a wait-and-see approach before the elections [held in May], and now… we believe businesses are gathering their thoughts on how to move forward,’ he notes.
‘I think everyone is happy to see that this is the new Malaysia that will provide new hope and a new trajectory. Those who were holding back on capital-raising plans over concerns about public governance and corruption should now come back.’
