Capital market outlook strengthens

PETALING JAYA: Political stability as well as recent positive regulatory changes have boosted the capital market outlook in Malaysia.

These factors, coupled with a stable macro environment of healthy economic growth have helped strengthen the initial public offering (IPO) market in the country, according to Deloitte Malaysia’s capital markets services partner Wong Kar Choon.

“Regulatory changes have been the key element to boost the number of IPOs in the country leading to a very vibrant capital market,” Wong said at the Deloitte South-East Asia IPO conference yesterday.

“There is a very conducive environment for companies to go for a market listing.

“Also, along with the good macroeconomic data such as the gross domestic product rates with the reduced overnight policy rate which encourages companies to tap into the capital markets.”

Commenting on this matter, Deloitte South-East Asia’s capital markets services leader Tay Hwee Ling said company public listings so far in Malaysia have seen sustained strength.

“The company fundamentals in Malaysia are strong. The consumer sector seems to be performing very well indicative of recent listings,” she added.

Wong pointed out that the ACE Market continues to attract the most listings in Malaysia with its lower barriers to go public, but saw quality upon deeper scrutiny.

“ACE Market listings do not require companies to be profitable to get listed – but we see every single company that has listed here recently at least has had a profit track record.

“This shows the quality of companies at the small and medium enterprises stage which are able to list.”

Meanwhile, Tay said the real estate investment trust (REIT) listings have garnered a sizeable interest this year with the listing of Paradigm-REIT which raised RM560mil, the largest Malaysian-REIT IPO in the past 13 years.

“I think there is a lot of potential for more REITs to go public eventually.”

Malaysia leads the pack in terms of the number of IPOs raised in the South-East Asian Region, with 48 IPOs raising US$1.1bil, mainly through the ACE Market.

Furthermore, Deloitte noted that Malaysia is on track to meet its target of 60 IPOs by the end of the year.

This is driven by sustained investor confidence and a strong pipeline of companies seeking to raise capital on the stock exchanges.

“Malaysia’s IPO pipeline is diverse, with significant activity in the consumer goods, industrial products, as well as energy and resources sectors, supported by government incentives and growing investor appetite,” Wong said.

“Despite geopolitical uncertainties, trade tariffs affecting export-driven companies, and supply chain pressures, well-established consumer-orientated companies remain central to Malaysia’s IPO market and economic landscape.

“Malaysia’s IPO market in 2025 is characterised by strong sectoral diversity, positive investor sentiment, and a supportive regulatory environment, making it a resilient and attractive capital market hub in the region for IPOs.”

The industrial products and consumer sectors continue to be the strongest performers, with THMY Holdings Bhd and Oriental Kopi Holdings Bhd making robust debuts, posting first-day gains of 193.55% and 98.86% respectively.

Malaysia also saw a first secondary listing of UMS Integration Ltd, a Singapore Exchange-listed company while Cuckoo International (MAL) Bhd, a subsidiary of South Korea-listed Cuckoo Holdings Co Ltd, also listed on Bursa Malaysia.