KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — Equity fundraisings continued to register a higher number with 22 equity applications submitted to the Securities Commission in 2023 versus 20 applications in 2022, said the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC).
The SC said in its Annual Report 2023 released today that of the total, nine were for initial public offerings (IPOs), two in relation to a proposed acquisition resulting in a significant change of business direction or policy and 11 for transfer of listings to the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.
It said seven more applications had been brought forward from 2022.
“Out of this total, 18 applications were considered while two were withdrawn and nine remained under review as at year-end.
“On average, five rounds of queries were raised per equity application considered, 99 per cent of which were raised within time charter,” it added.
The SC said it also registered 17 equity prospectuses in 2023, comprising six IPO prospectuses and 11 abridged prospectuses in relation to fundraising by listed corporations.
Meanwhile, on corporate bonds and sukuk, the number of lodgements remained stable, with 64 corporate bonds and sukuk lodgements made with the SC in 2023 against 62 lodgements in 2022, according to the report.
It said sukuk accounted for 67 per cent of the number of lodgements, as well as 57 per cent of the nominal value in relation to ringgit-denominated instruments (sukuk RM98.26 billion; total RM171.26 billion) and 80 per cent of the nominal value for foreign currency-denominated instruments (sukuk US$40 billion; total US$50 billion).
“The SC also received two corporate bond applications with a nominal amount of RM0.22 billion in 2023, compared to two corporate bond applications with a nominal amount of RM0.37 billion received in 2022.
“Both applications had been considered and approved as at year-end,” it said.
According to the report, a total of 174 documents were received in 2023 against 123 documents received in 2022, representing a 41 per cent increase in corporate bonds and sukuk-related documents received by the SC.
— Bernama
