KUALA LUMPUR (April 16): The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said today 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, which was released today (April 16), that in 2019, the SC 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 principles-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.

The SC said these engagements have given the industry a better understanding of the regulator’s expectations of a proper due diligence process. In turn, the industry also provided diverse perspectives on building an agile IPO framework, the SC said.