This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 17, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said the country’s enhanced initial public offering (IPO) framework is targeted to be rolled out in 2020 to reinforce the shared responsibilities between the SC and approved principal advisers with a firm focus on enabling investors to make informed decisions based on adequate disclosure of risks and returns.

The SC said in its 2019 annual report released yesterday that in 2019, the commission collaborated with key stakeholders to further infuse market perspectives into the enhanced IPO framework.

“A robust due diligence process is the cornerstone of the primary market’s regulatory framework as the SC relies on information submitted by the approved principal advisers to perform their duties efficiently. Furthermore, targeted investors should be provided with information that is adequately disclosed in the offering documents to make informed investment decisions.

“To this end, the SC is geared towards setting out principle-based rules and regulations while approved principal advisers would be granted greater flexibility and the corresponding accountability to achieve the desired outcomes without compromising investors’ interest.

“The SC has been actively engaging various stakeholders who play important roles in a typical IPO process such as approved principal advisers, reporting accountants, due diligence lawyers, valuers and other stakeholders,” the SC said.