KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 ― Bursa Malaysia’s average daily trading value (ADTV) jumped 42 per cent to RM2.9 billion in the first four months of 2024, showing the vibrancy of the local equity market since early this year.

Bursa Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said just this week, the local market capitalisation hit a record high of RM2 trillion with the benchmark index FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) surpassing 1,600 points for the first time in two years.

He said the performance of newly listed companies on the local stock exchange in 2024 has also been quite strong, with a majority of the 13 new companies listed year-to-date having closed above their initial public offering (IPO) prices as of the end of April 2024.

"In fact, five of the IPOs enjoyed price appreciation of more than 50 per cent,” he said in his opening remarks at the two-day Bursa Marketplace Fair 2024 at Suria Sabah Shopping Mall in Kota Kinabalu today.

Muhamad Umar said the healthy development makes the local stock market even more exciting for the public to participate in the capital market, grow wealth and be part of the nation’s growing economy.

However, he said only about 50,000 adults, or 1.5 per cent of the over three million population in Sabah, have opened the Central Depository System (CDS) accounts to access investment opportunities in securities on the exchange. "This signals a significant perhaps lack of familiarity for Sabahans with the investment opportunities the exchange provides,” he added.

Muhamad Umar said to help Sabahans kickstart or diversify their strategies for investing for the future, the Marketplace Fair 2024 features knowledge talks essential for effective financial planning and wealth creation, to meet their financial needs.

Themed "Invest Today, Harvest Tomorrow”, Marketplace Fair 2024 is one of Bursa Malaysia’s investor education programmes that aims to promote financial literacy with knowledge of investing opportunities in various asset types offered by Bursa Malaysia, such as stocks, exchange-traded funds, structured warrants, derivatives, and even gold.

Also present at the event today was Sabah's Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe. ― Bernama