VARIOUS EFFORTS: Bursa Malaysia has mounted road shows and commenced marketing efforts to profile the bourse to demonstrate its depth and breadth to host IPO.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd is embarking on efforts to attract more foreign companies to list their shares on the local bourse.
The exchange has mounted road shows and commenced marketing efforts to profile the bourse to demonstrate its depth and breadth to host initial public offerings (IPOs), says chief executive officer Datuk Tajuddin Atan.
“The IPOs need to be of a certain quality. This is where both sides have to actually meet. Work is in progress at this point in time,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Invest Asean 2013 Roadshow.
“For a couple of years, what we have done in Bursa Malaysia is actually strengthening our fundamentals, look at our growth and broadening our products and our investor base,” he said.
Without disclosing details, Tajuddin said Bursa Malaysia expected one or two major IPOs this year.
Among major IPOs expected this year are Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd, AirAsia X Bhd and Malakoff Corp Bhd.
The exchange recorded 17 listing in 2012 worth RM22.9 billion.
He said the value of the IPOs this year would more or less equal that of last year depending on markets circumstances.
Last year, Bursa Malaysia raised two of the world’s top five IPOs, one of which is IHH Healthcare Bhd which was simultaneously listed in Malaysia and Singapore.
In 2012, the FBM KLCI benchmark index, which reached new all-times highs 27 times, grew 10.34 per cent while in terms of dividend yield, Bursa Malaysia was the second highest in the region at 3.52 per cent.
On Invest Asean 2013, Tajuddin said the roadshow kicked off in Bangkok (January) followed by Singapore (February) and was now in Malaysia to connect investors with top performing public-listed companies from the Singapore Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Thailand. — Bernama