Malaysia To Introduce Regulations To Ease IPO Listings On Stock Exchanges

Malaysia will pursue measures this year to make it easier for companies to list on the national stock exchange, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on Monday.

Anwar stated at an industry event that the securities regulator and the stock exchange will speed up the process for initial public offerings and reduce time-to-market to ensure Malaysia's competitiveness and attractiveness.

In order to promote investor interest, he also announced a cut in stamp duty payments for shares traded on the Bursa Malaysia.

Stamp duty will be decreased from 0.15 percent to 0.10 percent of contract value beginning in July, with a maximum cap of 1,000 ringgit ($216.78) per contract, according to Anwar.

"This change will directly reduce the cost of securities transactions and make the Malaysian stock market more competitive," he explained.

According to him, the government is also considering initiatives to entice family offices to Malaysia and to make doing business easier.

Anwar's administration has implemented a raft of legislative and economic reforms since assuming power in November last year, including lowering subsidies for the wealthy and removing the mandatory death penalty.