LEAP gives SMEs quick access to KL capital market

Kuala Lumpur

RATHER than relying almost solely on bank financing, small and medium-sized enterprises will now be able to raise funds and increase their visibility in the capital market through a new arena that aims to address the current funding gap. It is called the Leading Entrepreneur Accelerator Platform (LEAP).

In a statement on Thursday, Bursa Malaysia Bhd said the LEAP Market would complement the Main and ACE Markets and at the same time enhance the existing SME funding eco-system while addressing the over-dependency of SMEs on financial institutions. An estimated 96 per cent of SME funding presently comes from the banking sector with less than 4 per cent derived from the capital market.