Bursa Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar
ISKANDAR PUTERI: Bursa Malaysia is optimistic on meeting its target of 42 initial public offerings (IPOs) this year, a level not achieved since 2006 with 40 listings.
Its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said for the first-half of 2024, Bursa Malaysia was the leading stock exchange for IPOs in Asean having raised US$450mil representing 33% market share of the region’s IPO market.
“We have recorded 35 listings to date with RM6.1bil in total funds raised and RM25.7bil total IPO market capitalisation,’’ he said in his speech at Invest Malaysia Iskandar "Where Policy Meets Progress” here.
Present at the event were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
Abdul Wahid said the market outlook remained robust, bolstered by sustained interest from both domestic and foreign investors.
“This year has been a really good year for our equity capital market,’’ he added.
Abdul Wahid said the benchmark index, FTSE Bursa KLCI, gained 15% year-to-date (YTD) as at Wednesday’s (Sept 26) close making Bursa the best performing market in Asean.
He said this resulted in the overall market capitalisation reaching RM2.05 trillion, having surpassed the RM2 trillion level for the first time in May 2024.
Abdul Wahid said the market has been very active with YTD average daily trading value (ADV) increasing by 64% to RM3.37bil from RM2.06bil in 2023.
“Foreign investors contributed 35% to trading value with net inflow of RM3.99bil,’’ he said.
Abdul Wahid said key factors driving such performance included the favourable macroeconomic environment in Malaysia with GDP growth of 5% for the first half of the year.
He said this was driven by the government’s Madani Economy framework, supported by key policies such as the National Energy Transition Roadmap, the New Industrial Master Plan 2023 and the National Semiconductor Strategy.
Abdul Wahid added there was continued strong trade performance with total trade in the first eight months of the year rising to 10.9% y-o-y to RM1,904.5bil and a continued trade surplus of RM78.2bil.
“Malaysia’s current account surplus for the first half of the year was sustained at RM19.2bil representing 2.1% of GDP,’’ he said.
Abdul Wahid also noted the strong encouragement by the government for GLCs and other investors to prioritise domestic investments, which generate not only healthy returns but also create business and employment opportunities in the country.
Invest Malaysia was co-organised by Bursa Malaysia, CIMB Securities, HSBC and Maybank.
