The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has on Wednesday introduced an accelerated transfer process to facilitate the promotion of eligible ACE Market public listed companies (PLCs) to the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.

The framework will take effect on January 1, 2024 through amendments to the Equity Guidelines, SC said in a statement.

According to the statement, the accelerated transfer of listing is part of a slew of capital market measures introduced by the SC to improve stock market vibrancy and reduce market friction.

The SC Chairman Awang Adek Hussin said the ACE Market has remained a significant source of financing within the Malaysian equity capital market, with 20 ACE Market listings raising MYR 1.26 billion ($270 million) through initial public offerings as of October this year.

“This accelerated transfer process will benefit sizeable, qualified ACE Market public limited companies (PLCs) by accelerating the transfer to the Main Market for greater visibility and access to a larger pool of investors, including foreign and institutional investors,” he said.

According to the statement, transferring to the Main Market, which is the prime market for established companies, demonstrates that the ACE Market PLCs have achieved the standards in terms of quality, size and operations.

It noted the newly simplified and accelerated transfer process should incentivize more companies listed on the ACE Market to make continuous efforts to improve their corporate values and achieve sustainable growth for shareholders.

Under the new accelerated transfer process, it said an ACE Market PLC must, among others, have a daily market capitalization of at least MYR 1 billion ($210 million) for the past six months, and meet the profit requirements for companies seeking listing on the Main Market.

SC, a statutory body reporting to the Minister of Finance in Malaysia, was established under the Securities Commission Act 1993.

It is the sole regulatory agency for the regulation and development of capital markets in Malaysia.

The SC has direct responsibility for supervising and monitoring the activities of market institutions, including the exchanges and clearing houses, and regulating all persons licensed under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.

SC Malaysia to introduce streamlined transfer of listing to encourage more exit options