KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 27): Stock exchange operator Bursa Malaysia Bhd (KL:BURSA) expects a total of 60 new listings this year, exceeding 55 initial public offering (IPOs) recorded in 2024.
Bursa chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift hinted that there will be infrastructure listings and the potential IPO of MMC Corp Bhd’s port business MMC Port Holdings Sdn Bhd this year.
“It is going to be a very diverse group [of IPOs]; we will have infrastructure listings as well. We look forward to welcoming MMC Port back to the exchange,” he told reporters at Bursa’s earnings briefing for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024 (FY2024) on Monday.
It was reported that the listing of MMC Port could fetch RM7 billion worth of fundraising, making it the biggest on Bursa in more than a decade.
Bursa said the new listings for this year are estimated to contribute a market capitalisation of RM40.2 billion, compared with RM31.37 billion last year.
Umar, however, believes that the exchange operator “can do better” than the current headline key performance indicator (KPI) of 60 IPOs in 2025.
“Moving forward, we are optimising for a strong future this year with exciting initiatives in the pipeline to build sustainability and resilience as a multi-functional exchange,” Umar said.
Despite aiming for a higher number of IPOs for this year, Bursa expects lower earnings due to uncertainties in US trade policies that may impact Malaysia’s growth.
Bursa chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said that the bourse operator is cognisant of global events such as US trade policies under newly elected President Donald Trump, interest rate directions of major central banks, and China’s economic recovery that may affect Malaysia’s economic trajectory.
“Being one of the top performing markets in Asean last year, we are cautiously optimistic that growth momentum in the domestic market should continue to prevail on the back of successful policy progress and steady global economic growth,” Abdul Wahid said at the briefing.
For FY2025, Bursa is targeting a marginally lower profit before tax of between RM369 million and RM408 million this year, compared with RM410.36 million it achieved in FY2024.