Malaysia’s first-half IPO report card

Some organisations have chosen to wait and see, in a hope of an economic recovery later for better IPOs and fund-raising activities. However, it seems what is happening in our home ground Malaysia and Bursa Malaysia is the complete opposite.Although there is news of an economic slowdown, the capital market and IPOs in Malaysia remain vibrant.Active market: For the first six months of 2022, Malaysia recorded 16 listings raising approximately RM1.8bil (US$431mil) with a capitalisation of RM6.6bil.

AT the start of 2022, we see most countries and major economies opening their borders and gradually returning to normalcy.

“Normalcy” was a word we hardly used in the past but post-Covid-19 pandemic, this word brings a sense of joy.

With that said, one would have thought that the return to normalcy would contribute to a more vibrant global capital market.

But the market turmoil stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict in early 2022 and the tightening of monetary policy by key governments have halted a bit of the lively and spirited push the global capital market enjoyed in 2021.

Reports have shown that the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the United States have dropped significantly by 80% in the first half of 2022.

Some organisations have chosen to wait and see, in a hope of an economic recovery later for better IPOs and fund-raising activities.

However, it seems what is happening in our home ground Malaysia and Bursa Malaysia is the complete opposite.

Although there is news of an economic slowdown, the capital market and IPOs in Malaysia remain vibrant. There is something about “good Malaysian businesses” that command the attractive capital market pricing.

We left 2021 with a good and promising feeling for 2022 and that is what we are still feeling now – mid-2022.

For the first six months of 2022, Malaysia recorded 16 listings raising approximately RM1.8bil (US$431mil) with a market capitalisation of RM6.6bil.

In comparison to the first half of last year, Bursa had around 13 listings which raised approximately RM357mil.

This is a fantastic number in comparison to global key markets such the US, which saw a reduction in their IPO listing.

The first half also saw two key main market listings that gave a market capitalisation of above RM1bil, namely Senheng New Retail Bhd and Farm Fresh Bhd.

All these data have shown continued confidence in the Malaysian capital market, with a proven track record of business.

What’s happening in the region?

Continuing from the year before, Indonesia is still leading the pack and has raised approximately US$1.42bil (RM6.32bil) from a total of 21 IPOs.

This is followed by Malaysia at US$431mil (RM1.92bil), Singapore at US$421mil (RM1.87bil), Thailand at US$349mil (RM1.55bil) and Philippines at US$309mil (RM1.38bil).

Being South-East Asia’s largest economy and having one of the world’s largest populations, Indonesia continues to see big IPOs.

In the first half of 2022, Indonesia had one of the largest IPOs in the region – GoTo. The merged entity between Gojek and Tokopedia represents a market capitalisation of US$28bil (RM125bil).

So, the question is, will Indonesia continue to see such sizeable IPOs in the second half of 2022? The ingredients are there.

Outlook

There may be some negative sentiments in the market and possibility of companies pulling their brakes in such times but the IPOs in South-East Asia, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia, have shown that the right companies can continue to raise funds and attract investors.

It is observed that good technology-enabled companies will continue to get the funds they need for expansion, either through an IPO or via private equity funding.

Wong Kar Choon is an IPO Leader of Deloitte Malaysia. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.