KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd anticipates an uptick in initial public offerings (IPO) this year, particularly on the ACE Market, setting a 42 IPO target for the year.
The stock exchange operator missed its initial 39 IPOs target for 2023 due to lower than anticipated listings on the LEAP market.
By end of 2023, there were 33 IPOs.
LEAP Market is an adviser-driven market which aims to provide emerging companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises with fund raising access to sophisticated investors as prescribed under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.
Looking ahead, its chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said the IPO pipeline this year remains healthy.
"At the end of the day, we're expecting to have 42 companies to list this year. "It's probably worth noting that we missed our target of 39 companies last year, primarily from the LEAP market. But we have performed well in the ACE market. And as such it shouldn't impact our overall target for the year," he said at Bursa Malaysia financial year 2023 (FY23) results briefing here today.
Meanwhile, Umar said despite a slight 0.5 per cent drop in the average daily value (ADV) to RM2.1 billion, it remained above the pre-pandemic level.
Notably, he said both the total funds raised through IPOs and the IPO market capitalisation exceeded the figures from the previous year.
"In FY23, the exchange successfully raised RM3.6 billion from new listings compared to RM3.5 billion for FY22, bringing our IPO market capitalisation to RM13.6 billion, surpassing last year's total of RM11.2 billion. "These developments highlight the market's capability to adapt and thrive, solidifying the exchange's role as a viable platform for fundraising and investing needs," he added.
Bursa Malaysia net profit rose 11.39 per cent to RM252.38 million in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023 (FY23), due to an increase in its operating revenue.It posted a net profit of RM226.57 million in FY22.
It has declared a final dividend of 14 sen per share for the fourth quarter of the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023, bringing its total dividend payout to 29 sen per share, for the year.
