Bursa unveils new listing requirements for LEAP Market

KUALA LUMPUR:

Bursa Malaysia Bhd’s new Leading Entrepreneur Accelerator Platform (LEAP) Market, where wealthy investors can lend money via the capital market to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), is fast firming up.

In a statement yesterday, Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan said the LEAP Market complemented both the Main and ACE markets by addressing the funding gap faced by SMEs.

Currently, 96 per cent of SME funding comes from the banking sector and less than four per cent from the capital market.

By 2020, the government targets SMEs to contribute at least 41 per cent of the country’s economic value.

“The LEAP Market, which targets high net worth institutions and individuals, seeks to enhance the existing SME funding ecosystem and address the overdependency of these SMEs on banks and other financial institutions,” he said.

“It’s an ideal platform for SMEs who are currently underserved in the market to raise funds and enhance their profile in an efficient and cost-effective manner,” he added.

SMEs in the LEAP Market will be required to make immediate announcements of material information/transactions, semi-annual financial statements and annual audited financial statements.

Similar to the ACE Market, Tajuddin said there was no need for profit track record for SMEs, but investors who were keen to participate must have net asset value of RM10 million and above.

It’s an ideal platform for SMEs who are currently underserved in the market to raise funds and enhance their profile in an efficient and cost effective manner.

-DATUK SERI TAJUDDIN ATAN Chief executive officer Bursa Malaysia