KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 31): Bursa Malaysia Bhd’s number of new listings increased 53% to 29 in 2021 from 19 a year earlier, bringing the total number of listed companies on the bourse to 949 in 2021 from 936 in 2020, according to updates on Bursa's website.

For 2021, Bursa said there were six listings on the Main Market, 11 on the ACE Market and 12 on the LEAP Market.

The total number of listed companies across Bursa at 949 comprises 763 companies on the Main Market, 142 on the ACE Market and 44 on the LEAP Market, according to the bourse.

Meanwhile, the 29 new listings across Bursa during the year include Main Market entities Swift Haulage Bhd and IGB Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust, ACE Market entities HPP Holdings Bhd and Mobilia Holdings Bhd besides LEAP Market entity Jishan Bhd, according to Bursa. 

Looking back, Bursa said its number of new listings in 2020 fell to 19 from 30 in 2019.

Bursa however did not specify reasons for the increase and decrease in the annual number of new listings across the bourse.

For market observers, the key theme for world markets in 2020 was the Covid-19 pandemic, the major onset of which was seen around March that year before pandemic-driven movement restrictions affected global economic and business growth.

For 2021, global Covid-19 vaccine progress was seen offering hope for economic and business normalisation, hence better sentiment for world markets.