Stellar 2017 for Bursa Malaysia

Stock exchange pulls in RM10.8b foreign funds while regulator posts record net profit of RM223.04m

THE stock exchange operator posts its highest net profit since listing in 2005, on the back of 13 IPOs and RM10.8 billion in net foreign inflow into the bourse.

OOI TEE CHING

KUALA LUMPUR bt@mediaprima.com.my

THE Malaysian stock exchange posted one of its strongest performances last year, attracting RM10.8 billion of net foreign inflow and 13 new listings that raised RM7.4 billion.

For the stock market regulator Bursa Malaysia Bhd, it posted the highest net profit and operating revenue since its listing in 2005.

“We delivered a solid performance in 2017. The FBM KLCI (FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI) posted a 9.4 per cent growth while its market capitalisation grew 14.4 per cent year-on-year.

“There was also a significant increase in retail participation, which grew by 41 per cent yearon-year,” said Bursa chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan.

Bursa’s full-year net profit rose 15.2 per cent to RM223.04 million from RM193.62 million previously. Revenue rose 10 per cent to RM556.83 million from RM506.78 million previously.

“This is the third consecutive year of growth and 2017’s RM223.04 million net profit is the highest we’ve achieved,” said Tajuddin.

For the year under review, securities market trading revenue rose 21.9 per cent to RM259.6 million on the back of higher average daily trading value for on-market trades, which grew 28 per cent to RM2.3 billion.

In the fourth quarter (Q4) alone, Bursa’s net profit rose 10.2 per cent to RM55.27 million from RM50.17 million a year ago, thanks to higher contribution from the securities market.

Its Q4 revenue expanded 14.1 per cent to RM141.2 million from RM123.74 million previously.

Bursa has proposed a dividend of 18.5 sen per share worth RM99.4 million for the quarter with the total dividend, including special dividend, declared for the year amounting to 53.5 sen per share.

“Last year, we attracted 13 new listings and raised RM7.4 billion, compared with RM600 million in 2016. For 2018, we are hopeful of slightly stronger initial public offerings (IPOs) in terms of quantity and fund size,” said Tajuddin.

“There are interest for IPOs from some big names. Suffice to say that the IPO pipeline is tracking quite well.

“We will continue to expand our marketing efforts to build a strong IPO pipeline and look forward to boost our products and services to create a conducive capital market ecosystem for all market participants,” he added.

Meanwhile, crude palm oil futures (FCPO) trading rose 4.4 per cent to 11.9 million contracts.

Within Bursa Malaysia’s suite of derivatives products, the FCPO contract is the most popular and is a leading benchmark for the world’s palm oil price discovery marketplace.

Tajuddin said his team was making changes to the FCPO on the derivatives market.

“We are trying to understand some of the areas we are looking at and we will see how it can be done. We are still in the process of getting approvals or putting things in place,” he added.