“It will not just be about the numbers (anymore), but also the weightage each new player can bring to the market,” finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan said.
He said discussions had already begun with Bursa Malaysia to focus on “listing scales” – the size or valuation of a company that seeks listing on the stock exchange – next year rather than the number of new listings.
Amir told a press conference after the debut of marine transportation company Orkim Bhd on the main market today that the number of new initial public offerings (IPOs) in the capital market could reach 60 by year end, compared with a total of 55 last year.
“With 60 new listings, we will raise close to RM30 billion on Bursa Malaysia,” he added.
Orkim made its debut on the market at 92 sen a share, unchanged from its IPO price, with 5.4 million shares traded in morning trading.
This is the 58th IPO of the year. Amir said it signalled that investor confidence remained strong and opportunities still existed for companies ready to embrace transparency and governance, and are able to sustain growth.
He added that the government was always working to further stimulate the economy and implement initiatives to support capable and high-potential companies in Malaysia.
“We can see that in the GEAR-uP agenda, we introduced the ‘relay race’ to increase participation, where GLCs and government-linked investment companies invested in businesses classified as mid-tier with the potential to grow in the future.
“We hope that under this agenda, we will see more mid-tier companies continue to grow within this model, and that some of them will also include Bumiputera companies that can grow through the same model,” he said.
On Orkim’s flat debut share price today, its chairman Abdul Hamid Sh Mohamed said it was more important that investors take a longer-term view.
Orkim raised RM92 million in IPO proceeds to partially fund its fleet expansion as well as its working capital needs.
Following the exercise, Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) is expected to receive a gross total of RM828 million in proceeds from both the IPO and the transfer of shares from Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB).
“Approximately RM350 million will be given as dividends to PNB for the benefit of its unitholders, while the remaining capital will be redeployed to new Bumiputera mid-market investments to support ongoing capital recycling and enterprise growth,” PNB and Ekuinas said in a statement.