Capital Markets

While the possibility of loose monetary policy ending in the US raised concerns in the Malaysian markets, 2013 turned out to be a strong year for new offerings and for the benchmark index. In the first six months of 2014, nine IPOs were reported by the stock exchange. In 2013, $2.56bn was raised in IPOs. That was considerably less than in 2012, when the exchange raised $7.15bn, but up from $2.09bn in 2011. In December 2013 Bursa Malaysia upgraded its trading engine, utilising NASDAQ OMX technology. Bursa Trade Securities 2 replaced a 2008 system. The new engine is 1000 times faster in terms of trade. As in much of the region, Malaysia is facing headwinds related to changes in monetary policy in the West and the tapering of quantitative easing. Foreign investment will likely become more volatile going forward. Nevertheless, Malaysia is well positioned not only to weather any difficulties ahead, but it is in a good position to outperform. It has a well-regulated market, a strong domestic investor base, and its listed companies are well governed. This chapter contains an interview with Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, CEO, Employees Provident Fund.