Malaysia has pledged to cut the approval time for initial public offerings, while Singapore-based BuildBear Labs has bagged funding.
Malaysian regulators commit to cut IPO approval time
Malaysia’s stock exchange operator and regulator have jointly pledged to cut the IPO approval time to three months for both Main Market and ACE Market listings, according to a statement on Monday.
The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and Bursa Malaysia Berhad said the speedy approvals will apply to new IPO applications received from March 1.
It will, however, be subject to the principal advisors/sponsors satisfactorily addressing the regulators’ queries and comments on IPO applications within five market days.
“We believe our approval timeframe is able to cater to the dynamic business needs of companies looking to raise funds in the capital market, as part of our ongoing efforts to remain competitive and relevant for both local and international investors,” SC Chairman Awang Adek Hussin said in the statement, noting that 3.6 billion Malaysian ringgit ($753 million) was raised through IPOs in 2023.
Bursa Malaysia Chief Executive Officer Muhamad Umar Swift said the more competitive time-to-market will enhance the exchange’s attractiveness to companies seeking to list in Malaysia.
BuildBear Labs secures $1.9m funding
BuildBear Labs, a Singapore-based firm specialising in Web3 development tools, has raised $1.9 million in funding to support the development of its flagship platform.
The round was co-led by early-stage crypto venture capital Superscrypt, Tribe Capital, and 1kx with participation from Iterative, Plug-N-Play, and several notable angel investors, according to a statement.
Along with the fundraising announcement, BuildBear Labs also launched its new Phoenix Engine to improve user experience.
Founded by Web3 experts Dipesh Sukhani and Emmanuel Antony, BuildBear offers developers a platform to build and test decentralised applications (dApps) efficiently. This allows developers to create a private network tailored to their needs.