On 3 August 2009, the Main Board and Second Board of Bursa Malaysia were merged into a single unified board, which is now known as the Main Market, for established companies. On the same date, the Mesdaq Market, which was for technology-based companies, was replaced by an alternative market now known as the ACE Market, for emerging companies.

The LEAP Market was introduced by Bursa Malaysia in 2017 with the aim of providing emerging companies with greater access to fund-raising. With lighter regulatory approach compared to the Main Market and ACE Market, the LEAP Market is accessible only to sophisticated investors.

Effective 1 January 2022, Bursa Malaysia has undertaken the registration of ACE Market prospectuses, which is a function previously assumed by the Securities Commission Malaysia. Bursa Malaysia is now a one-stop centre for all approvals pertaining to ACE Market listing upon the transfer of the prospectus registration function to Bursa Malaysia. The change is expected to facilitate the process for companies seeking listing on the ACE Market.

Unlike transfer listing from the ACE Market to the Main Market which is provided under the Equity Guidelines and Main Market Listing Requirements, there is currently no framework for direct transfer listing from the LEAP Market to the ACE Market or the Main Market. Given that the LEAP Market has lighter regulatory approach and is accessible only to sophisticated investors, any framework for transfer listing from the LEAP Market must ensure that the same standard required for listing on the Main Market or ACE Market is met.

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This post was first posted on Linkedin on 19 July 2021. It has been edited to reflect the migration of the registration of prospectus from the Securities Commission Malaysia to Bursa Malaysia since 1 January 2022.