Malaysia’s RM4 Trillion Capital Market Propels Growth For Businesses, Investors - Wahid Omar

LONDON, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s RM4 trillion equity and debt capital market is well-positioned to support the country’s growth, enabling businesses and investors to leverage and benefit from emerging opportunities, Bursa Malaysia Bhd chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said today.

"Investing in Malaysia is more than just about investment opportunities — it is also about the quality and confidence behind how these opportunities are delivered and sustained,” he said. 

Bursa Malaysia’s public listed companies' transformation programme seeks to drive a higher standard of performance and competitiveness among its listed companies, ensuring that their growth is aligned with best practices, environmental stewardship and the highest standards of corporate governance, he said.

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As a progressive multi-asset exchange, Bursa Malaysia also continues to spearhead innovative initiatives and widen market accessibility, he said at Invest Malaysia London 2025, themed: “Malaysia’s Economic Resurgence, Driving ASEAN’s growth”, here.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim delivered a keynote address at the Invest Malaysia event.

Since 2005, Bursa Malaysia has hosted 59 Invest Malaysia ‘away’ programmes in major financial centres to showcase the nation’s strong value proposition and its attractiveness to global investors.

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He said some of these notable initiatives include, among others, the world’s first Shariah-compliant carbon exchange, the Centralised Sustainability Intelligence (CSI) Solution, and the Bursa Gold Dinar — all of which were launched in 2024.

Outlining some of the stock market operators key achievements last year, Abdul Wahid said the benchmark index, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 12.9 per cent in 2024, making Bursa Malaysia one of the best performing markets in ASEAN.

This resulted in Bursa Malaysia’s overall market capitalisation to surpass the RM2 trillion level for the first time in May 2024, he said, adding that the market has been very active with average daily trading value increasing by 53 per cent to RM3.15 billion from RM2.06 billion in 2023, while foreign investors contributed 36 per cent to total trading value.

Bursa Malaysia, he said, is also the leading stock exchange for initial public offerings (IPOs) in ASEAN with 55 new listings last year, raising US$1.65 billion or RM7.41 billion, ahead of Indonesia’s Stock Exchange at US$899 million, and the Singapore Stock Exchange at US$811 million, with total IPO market capitalisation of RM31.4 billion.

This is significantly higher than the 32 listings in 2023, and is the highest since 2006 which saw 40 listings, said the chairman.

"As Malaysia assumes the ASEAN chair for 2025, on the part of the Exchange, we will strengthen regional collaborations and enhance linkages with bourses and the ecosystem across ASEAN, particularly through initiatives such as the ASEAN-Interconnected Sustainability Ecosystem (ASEAN-ISE) and the ASEAN Common Carbon Framework (ACCF), which aim to further boost the region’s attractiveness and resilience," he added.

-- BERNAMA