When I started working on corporate finance and equity capital markets transactions as a junior lawyer, it was overwhelming.

It was a constant rush to ensure comments for announcements, circulars and submission documents were sent to principal advisers in time for the announcements and submissions to be made. Lunch time in the early years of practice was dictated by the timeline for announcements and submissions.

CF and ECM transactions require attention to details. Imagine the adrenaline rush when checking to ensure all the details are covered before the deadlines.

In addition, I was trying to figure out how the CMSA, Listing Requirements and various guidelines apply to the transactions.

With the benefit of some experience, I think a beginner could get up to speed with CF and ECM transactions by doing some reading to understand the following:

1. Get an overview of the relevant laws and guidelines. Which laws and guidelines govern the transactions? Is it CMSA, Listing Requirements, Prospectus Guidelines, etc.?

2. Do the transactions require approval from, registration with, or notification to the authorities?

3. If yes to Question 2, what is the approval, registration or notification required and which is the relevant authority?

4. What are the deliverables for the transactions? For example, do the transactions require announcements, circulars, applications to authorities or prospectuses?

5. What is the information required to be disclosed in the relevant documents? For example, the Listing Requirements prescribe the minimum contents for circulars in respect of transactions which require approval of shareholders of PLCs.

6. What are the key timelines applicable to the transactions as provided under the relevant guidelines? For example, the Prospectus Guidelines require the date of the prospectus issuance to be not later than 6 months after the end of the most recent financial year of the company seeking to list on Bursa Malaysia.

What tips do you have for someone starting out in corporate finance or capital markets transactions?

#malaysiancorporatelawyer

#ECM

#corporatefinance

#equitycapitalmarkets

This post was first posted on Linkedin on 6 October 2021.