[Last updated: 1 January 2024, unless otherwise noted]

Bursa Malaysia Berhad is the exchange holding company in Malaysia. It operates a fully-integrated exchange and offers exchange-related services through its subsidiaries. Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (a subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia Berhad) provides, operates and maintains the securities exchange in Malaysia, which is commonly referred to as Bursa Malaysia.

Bursa Malaysia is an ideal exchange for companies seeking to list Shari'ah-compliant equity securities. In addition, companies may find Bursa Malaysia's financial listing criteria to be less stringent than many other stock exchanges. For example, and as discussed further below, a company whose core business is not that of infrastructure project may satisfy Bursa Malaysia's financial listing criteria based on market capitalization and one year of operating revenue alone (i.e., the company is not required to demonstrate a period of uninterrupted profits).

Companies are either listed on the Main Market, ACE Market or the LEAP Market of Bursa Malaysia. The Main Market (which resulted from the merging of the Main Board and Second Board counters in August 2009) is generally the preferred platform for the listing of established companies with sound operating track records. The Main Market is designed for all companies that meet the listing requirements and does not target particular types of companies. In contrast, the ACE Market (previously known as the MESDAQ Market) is an alternative, sponsor-driven market designed for companies with growth prospects whereas the LEAP Market is an adviser-driven market accessible only to sophisticated investors, which aims to provide emerging companies, including small-and medium-sized enterprises with greater fund-raising access and visibility.

Unless stated otherwise, the discussion in the rest of this summary relates to the listing of, and quotation for shares on, the Main Market.

While Bursa Malaysia does not generally make a distinction between primary and secondary listings on the market scoreboard, there are certain regulatory distinctions between these listings. For example, a corporation seeking secondary listing on the Main Market is subject to the listing rules of its home exchange (which must have standards of disclosure rules at least equivalent to those of Bursa Malaysia) as well as admission, information provision and continuing listing obligations of Bursa Malaysia. These are discussed below.

The aggregate market capitalization of listed securities on Bursa Malaysia in 2022 was MYR1,736 billion (approximately US$377.75 billion), which represents a decrease of 3% from the aggregate market capitalization of MYR1,789 billion (approximately US$389.29 billion) in 2021. As at 1 January 2024, 793 companies were listed on the Main Market, representing a marginal increase from 2022 (when 785 companies were listed).

The primary regulatory authorities involved in a proposed listing on Bursa Malaysia include:

• The Securities Commission (the SC), whose prior approval is required for an initial public offering, back-door listing, secondary listing, cross listing or transfer of listing from the LEAP market to the ACE Market or the ACE Market to the Main Market.
• Bursa Malaysia, the listing authority for admission to the stock exchange.

Depending on the licenses, approvals and permits held by prospective issuers and their subsidiaries, and the conditions endorsed on those documents, it is possible that the approval(s) and/or waiver(s) of the sectoral regulators may be necessary in connection with a listing on Bursa Malaysia.