Malaysia’s IPO Market On Track For 60 Listings In 2025 -- Amir Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- Initial public offerings (IPOs) on Bursa Malaysia have performed strongly this year, with expectations that the number of listings will reach 60 companies, said Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.

He said the number of IPOs this year is projected to surpass last year’s total of 55 IPOs on the exchange.

"With the 60 listings, we will get close to RM30 billion market capital raised on Bursa Malaysia," he told a press conference after Orkim Bhd's listing ceremony on the Bursa Malaysia Main Market here today.

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On next year's target, Amir Hamzah said the government has suggested that Bursa Malaysia focus on “listing scales” instead of the number of companies to be listed on Bursa Malaysia.

"I think Bursa Malaysia will shift its focus a bit in terms of giving more weightage to getting bigger companies to come on Bursa Malaysia, and strengthen the Main Market as its primary target,” he added. "So we are in discussion with Bursa Malaysia in setting a target that is not just about numbers, but also the weight of the players within the market."

Marine transportation company Orkim debuted on the Main Market today at 92 sen, unchanged from its IPO price of 92 sen, with 5.40 million shares traded in early trade. It closed the day trading at 93 sen, up one sen, with 60.37 million shares traded.

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Amir Hamzah said Orkim’s listing today marked the 58th IPO this year, marking a clear signal that investor confidence is strong and that opportunities exist for companies ready to embrace transparency, governance, and sustainable growth. 

He added that the government is always working to further stimulate the economy and implement initiatives to support capable and high-potential companies in Malaysia.

“We can see that in the GEAR-uP agenda, we introduced the ‘relay race’ to increase participation, where government-linked companies (GLCs) and government-linked investment companies (GLICs) have invested in companies classified as mid-tier companies with the potential to grow in the future.

“We hope that under this agenda we will see more mid-tier companies continue to grow within this model, and that some of them will also include Bumiputera companies that can grow through the same model,” he said.

Commenting on Orkim's flat debut share price today, its chairman, Datuk Abdul Hamid Sh Mohamed, said that “what is more important is for investors to take a longer-term view. As we mentioned before, we have quite a good dividend policy of 50 to 70 per cent at this price.”

"Moving forward over the next few years, hopefully the dividend yield will be quite good as the company grows and the payout also grows," he added.

With its listing, Orkim raised RM92 million in IPO proceeds to partially fund its fleet expansion plan as well as its working capital needs. 

Following the exercise, Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) is expected to receive a gross total of RM828 million in proceeds from both the IPO and the transfer of shares from Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB).  "Approximately RM350 million will be distributed as dividends to PNB for the benefit of its unitholders, while the remaining capital will be redeployed to new Bumiputera mid-market investments to support ongoing capital recycling and enterprise growth," PNB and Ekuinas said in a statement.

-- BERNAMA