Bursa Malaysia set to end in negative territory for third year

This year's 11 IPOs - which matched last year's - will raise just under RM600m; smaller issuers reward investors

Published Mon, Dec 26, 2016 · 09:50 PM

Kuala Lumpur

SUBSCRIBERS to newly listed animal health solutions provider Rhone Ma Holdings Bhd must have been ecstatic over the 16 per cent gain at its debut on the main market of Bursa Malaysia last week following an abject year for flotation exercises and the equities market in general.

For two consecutive years, Malaysia's benchmark FBMKLCI has finished in negative territory and with only a few days to the year's end, it looks likely to make it a hattrick this year.

Over the 2014-2016 period, corporate earnings growth has been underwhelming, akin to an "earnings recession", observed MIDF Research.

The weaker corporate performance has not helped market sentiment, which in turn has put off potential candidates from going public.…

BT is now on Telegram!

For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes