Initial Public Offerings in Malaysia: What Companies Need to Know
“Going public” – when a private company wishes to sell shares to the investors in the public for the first time, it undergoes an Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) process in order to transition from a privately-owned establishment to a publicly-operated entity. For a company to offer IPOs, corporate lawyers must be appointed along with an investment bank to underwrite the offer. The actual sale of the shares is generally offered by the stock exchange or by regulators.
In Malaysia, the Securities Commission Malaysia (“SC”) is in charge of approving IPO applications in accordance with securities laws. Whereas Bursa Malaysia is the main stock exchange that regulates and sets out the procedure for listing. According to Malaysian law, it is a requirement under Section 58 of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (“CMSA 2007”) for businesses seeking to engage in IPO to obtain a valid Capital Market Services License (“CMSL”) from the SC.
