Its CEO, Fad’l Mohamed, said the local bourse topped its Asean rivals in three key areas.

From January to June, a total of 38 companies were listed on Bursa Malaysia — six on the main market, 29 on the ACE market, and three on the LEAP market, making it the bourse with the highest number of new listings in H1 2025. The LEAP market caters mostly to SMEs and mid-size enterprises.

Through those listings, a total of RM4.2 billion — the highest in Asean — was raised. This is up from RM2.2 billion in the same period in 2024.

These listings have made Bursa Malaysia the bourse with the highest market capitalisation from IPOs in Asean.

Fad’l said fundraising on Bursa Malaysia remained resilient. “This has facilitated outlined growth plans for businesses,” he said at the H1 2025 results briefing for the bourse today.

He said the bourse is also seeing a growing interest in secondary listings from Singapore and will soon welcome SGX-listed UMS Holdings Ltd for its secondary listing on the main market on Aug 1.

“The IPO pipeline remains healthy with applications being processed by the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia.

“Our target of 60 IPOs (for 2025) as well as the target market capitalisation are still within reach,” Fad’l said.

However, Bursa Malaysia also reported a decline in its financial performance. Its profit after tax, zakat and minority interest (Patami) was RM125.5 million for the first half of 2025 — a 19.3% decline from RM155.5 million in the same period last year.

The drop was mainly due to an 8.1% decrease in operating revenue to RM344.3 million, driven by softer securities trading activity.

Fad’l cited macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties — such as the change in the US administration, regional tensions, and ongoing tariff negotiations — as key factors weighing on investor sentiment.

Total operating expenses also rose 6.6% to RM189.3 million, largely due to higher staffing, tech investments, and administrative costs.