The outlook for the initial public offering market in Malaysia going into 2021 is positive even amid the Covid-19 pandemic as more companies are exploring IPO opportunities given the increased retail participation landscape.
He added that there were also enquiries from non-glove and non-technology businesses exploring IPOs and trying to understand how to embark on an IPO journey. Bursa Malaysia has mustered IPO fund raising of US$481 million in the first 10½ months of 2020, surpassing the US$447 million raised in 2019. The local bourse scored the biggest boost from the listing of Mr DIY Group Bhd which raised US$362 million, making it the largest listing in three years.
He noted that Deloitte continues to see a good number of listings in the ACE Market and the LEAP Market in particular, as good avenues for capital funding. Capital markets across Southeast Asia stayed resilient in 2020 despite a host of uncertainties. Total IPO activity in the region for the first 10½ months this year bucked the overall downward trend to inch up to pre-Covid levels with total funds raised of US$6.44 billion from 100 IPOs.