Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (“Exchange”) has issued Consultation Paper No. 2/2021 on 3 August 2021 to seek public feedback on the proposed changes to the ACE Market IPO process.

The diagram above, as extracted from the Consultation Paper, shows the current ACE Market IPO process and the proposed changes to the process.

The Exchange will assume ACE Market prospectus review and registration functions from the Securities Commission Malaysia, effective from 1 January 2022. To facilitate this, the Exchange proposes, amongst others, the following changes to the ACE Market IPO process:

1. Introduction of a mandatory consultation between a Sponsor (together with the applicant and other key advisers) with the Exchange prior to submission of a listing application and prospectus to the Exchange.
2. Submission of prescribed documents or information (“pre-admission consultation pack”) prior to the consultation with the Exchange and at least 1 month prior to the submission of the listing application and prospectus to the Exchange.
3. If the listing application and prospectus have not been submitted to the Exchange within 3 months from the date of submission of the pre-admission consultation pack, a new pre-admission consultation pack must be submitted.
4. The Exchange’s decision on its approval for listing and approval-in-principle for prospectus registration is expected to be obtained within 6 months from submission provided that the submission and information given to the Exchange are complete and adequate.
5. A listing application is valid for 6 months from the date of submission by an applicant. All queries from the Exchange must be resolved within this period. Otherwise, the applicant must submit new listing application and prospectus.

The consultation will close on 14 September 2021.

The information in this article is intended only to provide general information and does not constitute any legal opinion or professional advice.