A listing is a destination companies aim at for years, and one of the first strategic questions is which market to aim for. Bursa Malaysia runs two boards with genuinely different characters, and choosing between them shapes the entire preparation.

The Main Market

The Main Market is for larger, established companies. Admission is tested against quantitative thresholds — a profit test or, alternatively, a market-capitalisation test — and the Securities Commission reviews the listing. It suits companies with a demonstrable track record of profitability or substantial scale, and it carries the profile and liquidity that come with the senior board.

The ACE Market

The ACE Market is a sponsor-driven market designed for younger growth companies that do not yet meet the Main Market’s track-record requirements. Instead of quantitative admission thresholds, a company is assessed by an approved sponsor who takes responsibility for its suitability to list. It is built for companies with a compelling growth story rather than a long profit history — which describes a great many of the technology and consumer businesses we act for.

Choosing between them

  • Financials and size: if you comfortably meet the Main Market’s profit or market-cap tests, the senior board may be the natural home. If your value is in growth rather than accumulated profit, the ACE Market is often the better fit.
  • The story: the ACE Market is more accommodating of a business whose thesis is about where it is going, not only where it has been.
  • The path afterwards: ACE Market companies can, in time, transfer to the Main Market as they mature. The first listing is not necessarily the last.

Start early, whichever board

Whichever market you choose, the preparation is substantial and begins long before the submission — often twelve to twenty-four months out. Much of the work is restructuring, resolving related-party arrangements and building the governance and record-keeping discipline the regulators expect. Companies that begin early list on schedule; companies that leave it late discover how much housekeeping a public listing demands. Choosing the target board at the outset lets you prepare for the right one.

General information, not legal or investment advice. The right board and the right time depend on your circumstances — we assess it with you and your advisers before you commit.