SC-approved money-raising reaches record RM119bil

by **hlk** Thu 29 Mar 2012, 13:43

PETALING JAYA: The Securities Commission (SC) had approved RM118.9bil in fund-raising applications for 2011, a significant increase compared with RM77.02bil recorded in 2010.

The market regulator said the increase reflected a strong confidence in the fund-raising environment and sukuk approvals which had more than doubled to RM78.9bil from RM38.3bil the year before.

In a statement released in conjunction with its annual report for 2011, it said the approvals included the world's largest corporate sukuk programme of RM23.2bil by Projek Lebuhraya Usahasama Bhd, under which issuance commenced in January 2012.

“Malaysia remains at the forefront of the sukuk market, accounting for 73% of the total sukuk issued globally,” it said.

Total funds raised via the private debt securities (PDS) market increased by 32.8% to RM71.2bil in 2011 from RM53.6bil in 2010.

It said there had also been a growing interest from global investors in search of stable income with higher yields, with total foreign investment in private debt securities increasing from RM14.3bil in 2010 to RM15.1bil in 2011, of which RM10.09bil was in conventional PDS with the remaining RM5.05bil in sukuk.

“Over the next 10 years, the capital market will have to take on an even bigger role to provide the long-term financing required to sustain domestic growth amid a challenging global environment for growth and jobs, while adapting and remaining resilient to major shifts in the economic and financial landscape,” said SC chairman Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar.

The SC also approved 14 initial public offerings for the Main Market in 2011, with the capitalisation of the Malaysian equity market standing at RM1.28 trillion as at end-2011.

It also recorded higher overall average trading activity of 1.34 billion units, an increase of 31.6% from the year before.

Total funds raised via the equity market fell to RM12.6bil in 2011 from RM32.1bil in 2010 in line with a general slowdown in IPO activity worldwide.

The fund-management industry managed a total of RM423.6bil as at Dec 31, 2011, an increase of 12.2% compared with RM377.5bil in 2010.

Units trust funds continued to constitute the largest share of the Malaysian fund management industry with the aggregate net asset value of units trust funds growing by 9.99% to RM249.5bil in 2011, accounting for 19.42% of Bursa Malaysia's market capitalisation at the end of 2011.