# Bursa Malaysia: Three Markets, Three Very Different Entry Prices

> Bursa Malaysia runs three listing boards — Main, ACE and LEAP. Only one of them sets a financial threshold; the other two hand the gatekeeping to a sponsor or adviser. Here is what each actually requires, and how the FBM KLCI picks its 30 names.

- Category: economy
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-07-24
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/economy/bursa-malaysia

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## At a glance

| | Main Market | ACE Market | LEAP Market |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Minimum financial threshold | Yes — one of three tests | **None** | **None** |
| Who decides you are ready | Securities Commission | Sponsor + Bursa Malaysia | Approved adviser + Bursa Malaysia |
| Offering document | Prospectus | Prospectus | Information memorandum |
| Who can buy | General public | General public | Sophisticated investors only |
| Positioned for | Established corporations | Companies with growth prospects | Emerging companies and SMEs |

Sources: SC *Public Consultation Paper 4/2025*; SC *Equity Guidelines* (R8-2026).

## The one board with a number attached

Most people assume all three boards have a financial bar and that the bar simply
gets lower as you go down. That is not how it works.

Only the Main Market has quantitative admission criteria. Under the Equity
Guidelines revised on 28 May 2026 and effective 3 June 2026, an applicant whose
core business is not an infrastructure project must satisfy **either** of the
first two tests below; an infrastructure applicant must satisfy the third.

| Route | What it requires |
| --- | --- |
| Profit test | Aggregate after-tax profit of at least **RM30 million** across the most recent three full financial years, **and** at least **RM15 million** in the most recent year, on audited statements |
| Market capitalisation test | Total market capitalisation of at least **RM500 million** based on the offer price and enlarged share capital on listing, plus operating revenue for at least the most recent full financial year |
| Infrastructure project corporation test | The right to build and operate a project with costs of at least **RM500 million**, under a concession or licence with at least **15 years** remaining at listing |

Two conditions apply on top of whichever route is used. Management must have been
substantially the same for three full financial years (or since operations began,
for the market capitalisation and infrastructure routes). And controlling
shareholders face a **six-month moratorium** on selling their shares from the
listing date.

The RM30 million and RM15 million figures are new. They replace RM20 million and
RM6 million, thresholds the SC judged to be out of step with a market where the
average size of a small-cap Main Market listing had roughly doubled since 2010.

## ACE and LEAP: the sponsor is the gate

Neither the ACE Market nor the LEAP Market imposes minimum profit, revenue or
market capitalisation requirements. That is deliberate, not an oversight.

Instead, a listing sponsor (ACE) or an approved adviser (LEAP) assesses whether
the company is suitable to be listed, and stakes its own licence on that
judgement. Bursa Malaysia has been the sole approving authority for ACE Market
IPOs and prospectus registration since 1 January 2022.

The LEAP Market, launched in July 2017, goes further: it is restricted to
sophisticated investors, and issuers publish an information memorandum rather
than a full prospectus. The trade-off is cost and speed in exchange for a much
smaller pool of buyers.

Both boards feed upward. A company can list on ACE and later transfer to the Main
Market once it meets the entry criteria on the strength of its own business.

## What the FBM KLCI actually measures

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI is the country's headline benchmark: the **30
largest companies by full market capitalisation** listed on the Main Market that
meet the index eligibility rules. ACE Market companies are not eligible — they
have their own index.

Two screens do the filtering. A company with a free float of 15% or below is
excluded outright, and every security is tested for liquidity semi-annually using
its monthly median daily trading volume.

Reviews run each June and December. A stock enters the index if it rises to 25th
or above by full market value, and drops out if it falls to 36th or below — a
deliberate buffer that stops the index churning on small price moves. At the June
2026 review, IOI Properties Group replaced Sime Darby, effective at the start of
business on 22 June.

FTSE Russell and Bursa Malaysia consulted in March 2026 on expanding the index
from 30 to 50 constituents, adding a 10% cap on any single company, and shrinking
the FBM Mid 70 from 70 names to 50. Responses closed on 24 April 2026. A
consultation is a proposal, not a decision — the 30-stock rule stands until FTSE
Russell announces otherwise.

## Common mistakes

**Treating LEAP as a small IPO.** It is not a public offering. If your funding
plan assumes retail demand, LEAP in its current form does not provide it.

**Reading "no financial threshold" as "no scrutiny".** On ACE and LEAP the
sponsor's due diligence replaces the numeric test. It is often more intrusive,
not less.

**Budgeting against the old profit test.** Deals scoped before mid-2026 against
RM20 million / RM6 million now need to clear RM30 million / RM15 million.

**Assuming a Main Market listing means index inclusion.** The FBM KLCI takes 30
names out of the whole Main Market, and free float and liquidity screens can
disqualify a large company outright.

## What's next

If you are weighing an SME fundraise, compare the listing route against
[equity crowdfunding and P2P financing](/en/business/equity-crowdfunding-p2p-malaysia),
which are regulated by the same Securities Commission but carry no listing
obligations. Before any of it, get the capital structure right —
see [share capital in Malaysia](/en/business/share-capital-malaysia) and the
public-company provisions of the [Companies Act 2016](/en/law/companies-act-2016).

Watch two live items: the outcome of the FTSE Russell index consultation, and the
proposed LEAP Market enhancements announced by the SC and Bursa Malaysia on 18 May
2026, which would let retail investors into the LEAP Market subject to a total cap
of RM250,000, with RM100,000 per issuer in the primary market and RM100,000 per
broker in the secondary market. Both remain proposals as at 24 July 2026.

## Sources

- Equity Guidelines SC-GL/EG-2009 (R8-2026) — https://www.sc.com.my/regulation/guidelines/equity (Securities Commission Malaysia)
- Public Consultation Paper No. 4/2025: Market Segmentation Review — https://www.sc.com.my/api/documentms/download.ashx?id=63319ddb-e997-46b8-ab9f-b99d50b84f1b (Securities Commission Malaysia)
- SC and Bursa Malaysia Propose LEAP Market Enhancements — https://www.sc.com.my/resources/media/media-release/sc-and-bursa-malaysia-propose-leap-market-enhancements (Securities Commission Malaysia)
- FTSE Bursa Malaysia Index Series Ground Rules v6.1 — https://www.lseg.com/content/dam/ftse-russell/en_us/documents/ground-rules/ftse-bursa-malaysia-index-series-ground-rules.pdf (FTSE Russell (LSEG))
- FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI June 2026 semi-annual review — https://www.lseg.com/en/media-centre/press-releases/ftse-russell/2026/ftse-bursa-malaysia-klci-june-2026-semi-annual-review (FTSE Russell (LSEG))
- Consultation on enhancing the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Index Series — https://www.lseg.com/content/dam/ftse-russell/en_us/documents/consultation/ftse-market-consultation-on-enhancing-the-ftse-bursa-malaysia-index-series.pdf (FTSE Russell (LSEG))
- Bursa Malaysia Becomes One-Stop Centre for ACE Market IPOs and Prospectus Registration — https://www.sc.com.my/resources/media/media-release/bursa-malaysia-becomes-one-stop-centre-for-ace-market-ipos-and-prospectus-registration (Securities Commission Malaysia)
- FAQs on General Information of LEAP — https://www.bursamalaysia.com/reference/faqs/leap/faqs_on_general_information_of_leap (Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad)

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