Bursa issues listing rules for LEAP Market

> Leading Entrepreneur Accelerator Platform provides SMEs with fundraising access

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd has laid down the listing requirements (LR) for its third market, known as the Leading Entrepreneur Accelerator Platform (LEAP) Market, which is for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The LEAP Market is designed to accommodate corporations to which a higher investment risk may be attached. It is a qualified market which is meant mainly for sophisticated investors only.

“The rules for the LEAP Market have been formulated on a light-touch basis, in tandem with it being a qualified market for sophisticated investors. It’s an ideal platform for SMEs which are currently underserved in the market to raise funds and enhance their profile in an efficient and cost effective manner,” Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan said in a statement yesterday.

The new LEAP LR and amended rules have been approved by the SC and will take effect on June 16.

According to the LEAP Market LR, an applicant must be a public company incorporated in Malaysia and is not considered as suitable for listing if it is a subsidiary or holding company of a corporation currently listed on the Main Market or the ACE Market.

“Eligible small and mediumsized enterprises from all business sectors will be allowed to list on the LEAP Market except where it involves chain listing, an investment holding corporation with no immediate or prospective business operations within its group or an incubator, including a technology incubator.”

An applicant must have at least 10% of the total number of ordinary shares for which listing is sought in the hands of public shareholders at admission. However, it is not required to maintain the minimum public shareholding spread of 10% post-listing.

A listed corporation on the LEAP Market must announce to the stock exchange its semiannual financial statements.

Tajuddin said the LEAP Market complements both the Main Market and the ACE Market by addressing the funding gap faced by SMEs. It also enhances the existing SME funding eco-system and addresses the overdependency of these SMEs on financial institutions by providing them access to the capital market.