Bursa Malaysia sees promising year ahead for IPOs

Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan said the Corporate Governance Guide would enable listed issuers improve their corporate governance practices and reporting.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd is expecting a promising year ahead for initial public offerings (IPOs), with a few big names expected to headline the list.
 
Bursa Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan is confident that the market will see more companies being listed this year, compared with 2017. 

“There were 13 IPOs last year and we expect to see more in 2018,” he said at a briefing on Bursa Malaysia’s 2017  financial year briefing today. 

“We can’t reveal who they are... but expect some big names,” Tajuddin said. 

He also said Bursa expects the securities market to remain resilient this year, given the recent economic data and equity market performance, strengthening of the ringgit and expected positive corporate earnings. 

“Trading volatilities, however, may be influenced by local and external factors, such as geopolitical developments and the tightening of monetary policies in major economies in 2018.” 

Bursa Malaysia’s net profit for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2017 rose to RM55.27mil from RM50.17mil in the previous corresponding period, underpinned by higher trading revenue as well as listing and issuer services.

Revenue in the fourth quarter increased to RM141.20mil from RM123.74mil a year earlier.

For its financial year ended Dec 31, 2017, the stock exchange operator’s net profit increased to RM223.04mil from RM193.62mil in the previous corresponding period, while revenue grew to RM556.83mil from RM506.78mil a year earlier.

Profit after tax and minority interest (Patami) increased 15.2% to RM223mil in 2017 from RM193.6mil.

This is Bursa Malaysia’s highest recorded full year Patami since 2007, and highest full year operating revenue since its listing in 2005.

The company also approved a second interim dividend of 18.5 sen per share for 2017, amounting to approximately RM99.4mil and payable on March 5, 2018.

With that, the total dividend (including special dividend) declared for the year amounts to 53.5 sen per share.