KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 19): Corporate bond and sukuk issuers will no longer need to make disclosures through a prospectus and are only required to issue a product highlight sheet, as part of Securities Commission Malaysia's (SC) efforts to liberalise the RM1.3 trillion Malaysian bond and sukuk market.

The range of corporate bonds and sukuk that can be offered to retail investors has also been expanded beyond plain vanilla bonds, it added.

This liberalised framework, which will allow a more efficient issuance process for corporate bonds and sukuk to be offered to retail investors, comes into effect on Oct 11.

In a statement today, the SC said it is also introducing a new "seasoning framework" to enable retail investors to access existing corporate bonds and sukuk that are currently traded by investors in the over-the-counter (OTC) market.

"Under this framework, corporate bonds and sukuk that are eligible for retail investment must have been in the market for at least 12 months, and have a minimum credit rating of A, among other requirements," the regulator noted.

The SC also said distributors of corporate bonds and sukuk in the OTC market are required to observe the sales practices prescribed by it, such as the requirement to undertake necessary client on-boarding assessment and ensure fair treatment of investors.