Every Malaysian IPO operates on two concurrent timelines: the SC vetting and approval track, and the Bursa Malaysia listing preparation track. Companies that begin the process without understanding what each phase costs and how long it takes consistently arrive at the SC application stage underprepared, extending both cost and total time.
This article maps the observed timeline phases and indicative cost ranges for a Bursa Malaysia IPO. Cost figures are drawn from named practitioner sources. Six recent Main Market prospectuses are cited from the SC Prospectus Exposure Register (KK Mart Retail Berhad, Sunway Healthcare Holdings Berhad, MTT Shipping and Logistics Berhad, SkyeChip Berhad, Big Caring Group Bhd, and SQ Advanced Interconnect Berhad, all exposed 2025-2026 via Maybank IB, CIMB IB, AmInvestment Bank, and UOB Kay Hian). Exposure-stage prospectuses do not disclose final cost figures, as book-building is not complete at exposure.
For a comparison of the three Bursa listing boards, see Main Market vs ACE Market vs LEAP Market. For the full eligibility and governance readiness sequence, see the Malaysia IPO Readiness Checklist.
Editorial content. Not legal, regulatory, or compliance advice.
The Five Phases of a Malaysian IPO Timeline
The end-to-end process from first adviser engagement to listing day on Bursa typically runs 9 to 18 months. Main Market transactions at the upper end; well-prepared ACE Market applicants at the lower. The window from a complete SC application submission to listing day is approximately 7 months. The five phases below describe how that time is distributed.
Phase 1: Pre-mandate preparation (12 to 24 months before SC submission)
Companies that achieve the shorter end of the 9-to-18-month total timeline are those that complete the bulk of their internal preparation before the Principal Adviser is formally engaged. The SC application requires complete documentation at submission: a ready data room, resolved related-party transactions (RPTs), completed MFRS conversion, and a board that already meets Bursa’s composition requirements.
During this phase, companies typically commission an independent readiness adviser to conduct a gap assessment. Gaps found here are resolved at lower cost than the same gaps found during due diligence. The Bursa Main Market Listing Requirements (consolidated 1 July 2023) and the SC Equity Guidelines R7-2024 (issued 20 December 2024, effective 1 March 2025) together define what “ready” means.
Key tasks: MFRS conversion if the company has been reporting under Malaysian Private Entities Reporting Standards (MPERS); independent director appointments at least 12 months before the anticipated SC submission; tax review covering the full track record period; and group restructuring to present a clean, identifiable core business.
Phase 2: Adviser engagement and prospectus drafting (6 to 12 months before SC submission)
The Principal Adviser (Main Market and ACE Market) or Approved Adviser (LEAP Market) is typically engaged 6 to 12 months before the intended SC submission date. The reporting accountant and legal counsel are appointed in the same window. These three adviser relationships represent the bulk of professional fee spend.
Prospectus drafting occurs during this phase. The SC Prospectus Guidelines (effective 30 June 2022) specify mandatory content: business description, risk factors, use of proceeds, audited financials and interim accounts, Accountant’s Report, material contract summaries, RPT disclosure, and director profiles. The Accountant’s Report covering the full track record period is a separate engagement from the statutory audit; the reporting accountant must be registered with the Audit Oversight Board (AOB) under the SC Malaysia Act 1993.
Phase 3: SC vetting and prospectus exposure (approximately 5 to 6 months before listing)
Once the SC application is submitted, the SC vets the application and may issue queries. Each SC query cycle adds 4 to 8 weeks to this phase. Companies with clean documentation, resolved RPTs, and no outstanding tax investigations tend to move through SC vetting with fewer query cycles.
After SC vetting, a public exposure period begins. From the SC Prospectus Exposure Register (accessed 2026-05-25), the observed exposure periods for named 2025-2026 Main Market listings were: Sunway Healthcare Holdings Berhad, 19 September 2025 to 26 February 2026 (approximately 5 months); MTT Shipping and Logistics Berhad, 11 November 2025 to 25 March 2026 (approximately 4.5 months); SkyeChip Berhad, 18 November 2025 to 28 April 2026 (approximately 5.5 months). These three observed exposure periods, from named Main Market listings, cluster around 5 months.
The exposure period allows the public to comment on the unregistered prospectus. The SC then considers any comments before registering the prospectus.
Phase 4: Prospectus registration, book-building, and retail offer (6 to 8 weeks before listing)
After exposure and SC registration, the prospectus is registered and released publicly. Institutional book-building and the retail subscription period run in this phase. The final IPO price is determined by book-building for institutional tranches; the retail price is set at the lower of the Institutional Price or a stated ceiling price. This is the pricing structure confirmed in the KK Mart Retail Berhad and Big Caring Group Bhd exposure documents reviewed (SC Prospectus Exposure Register, accessed 2026-05-25).
Phase 5: Listing day and post-listing obligations
From listing day, two sets of obligations activate simultaneously. First, the moratorium on promoter shares commences: under the Main Market Listing Requirements, promoters cannot sell their full shareholding for 6 months post-admission, and 45% of the aggregate promoter holding must remain under moratorium for a further 6 months after that. Second, the continuing obligations for the listed company activate: quarterly reporting, annual accounts, material transaction disclosure, and MCCG 2021 governance compliance statements.
For ACE Market companies, the Principal Adviser obligation activates at listing and runs for a minimum of 3 years. For LEAP Market companies, the Approved Adviser obligation runs for a minimum of 3 financial years. These post-listing adviser relationships are a recurring cost that the one-time IPO budget does not cover.
Indicative Cost Ranges: Observed Practitioner Data
The table below presents cost ranges from two named practitioner sources: Crowe Malaysia (2023 practitioner data, as cited in prior analyses of the Bursa listing landscape) and Grant Thornton Malaysia (IPO Process Guide, 2025). These are market observations from qualified practitioner firms, not official regulatory schedules.
Defensibility note: All cost figures below are observed ranges from named practitioner sources. No specific cost figure below has been extracted from a registered Bursa prospectus cost-disclosure table, because the prospectuses accessible via the SC Exposure Register are at exposure stage, where final cost figures are not yet disclosed. Actual costs depend on company size, deal complexity, offering structure, and adviser selection. Bursa Malaysia received SC approval to revise its listing and regulatory fees in October 2025; the specific revised fee amounts were not accessible via live URLs at the publication date of this article and should be verified directly from the current Bursa fee schedule. Editorial content. Not legal, regulatory, or compliance advice.
| Cost component | ACE Market | Main Market | Source and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total listing costs (all-in observed range) | USD 430,000 to USD 1.1 million (approx. MYR 2 million to MYR 5 million) | USD 1.1 million to USD 2.2 million (approx. MYR 5 million to MYR 10 million) | Crowe Malaysia, 2023. Larger or more complex transactions at the upper end or beyond. |
| Total cost as % of funds raised | 5% to 15% | 5% to 15% | Grant Thornton Malaysia, 2025. Percentage tends toward upper end for smaller raises. |
| Underwriting, placement, and brokerage fees | 1% to 3% of value of shares issued | 1% to 3% of value of shares issued | Practitioner-observed range; not separately verified from a named registered prospectus. |
| Professional fees: adviser, legal, accounting | Varies by transaction complexity | Varies by transaction complexity | Not separately disclosed in reviewed sources. Largest variable component for complex deals. |
| SC prospectus registration fee | Not separately disclosed | Not separately disclosed | SC fee schedule not accessible via live public URLs at publication date. Verify from sc.com.my. |
| Bursa initial listing fee | Not separately disclosed | Not separately disclosed | October 2025 Bursa fee revision; revised amounts not verifiable from live URL at publication date. Verify from bursamalaysia.com. |
| Bursa annual listing fee | Not separately disclosed | Not separately disclosed | As above. |
| Post-listing: PA or AA retainer (3-year obligation) | Not separately disclosed; varies by adviser firm | Not applicable post-listing (no mandatory PA post-listing on Main Market) | ACE Market PA and LEAP Market AA post-listing retainer is a Bursa continuing obligation; amount is adviser-proposal driven, not published in a benchmark. |
| LEAP Market (all-in range) | Lower than ACE Market; specific published range not found in reviewed sources |
MYR figures are the denomination of the regulatory source documents; USD equivalents are calculated at a working rate and are approximations for reference only. Readers should use current exchange rates for any financial modelling.
What Drives Cost Within the Ranges
Five factors consistently determine where a transaction lands within the observed ranges.
Offering size. Adviser fees that are percentage-based (underwriting, brokerage) scale with the offering size. Fixed components (SC filing, Bursa fees, reporting accountant base retainer) do not scale proportionally, so smaller raises carry a higher cost-as-percentage-of-raise outcome.
Board choice. Main Market carries higher absolute listing costs than ACE Market, because the SC registration scope, reporting accountant track record period, and Bursa fee base are all larger. LEAP Market’s absolute costs are lower than ACE Market, but the fixed professional fee floor means savings are not proportional to the deal-size difference.
Group restructuring complexity. Companies with foreign subsidiaries requiring overseas regulatory clearance, non-core entities requiring SSM dissolution, or complex promoter structures incur additional legal and adviser time at each step. Financial sector companies must obtain Bank Negara Malaysia approval before the SC or Bursa can proceed; energy sector companies need Energy Commission clearance; oil and gas companies need PETRONAS clearance.
SC query cycles. Companies that submit applications with incomplete documentation, unresolved RPTs, or outstanding tax investigations receive SC queries. Each cycle adds 4 to 8 weeks and generates additional Principal Adviser and legal counsel fees.
Timing of adviser engagement. Companies that engage their Principal Adviser, reporting accountant, and legal counsel only 3 months before the intended SC submission date typically face documentation gaps that are resolved on an urgent timeline at higher cost than the same work done 12 months earlier.
Timeline Traps That Add Cost
Four patterns consistently extend both timeline and cost.
RPT documentation gaps. Transactions not documented with arm’s-length pricing evidence at the time they occurred must be reconstructed retroactively. Reconstruction typically adds 8 to 10 weeks and requires additional accounting and legal work.
Late board appointments. Independent directors brought in less than three months before SC submission cannot complete a credible governance assessment before the application is filed. Late appointments produce SC queries on board composition and independence, extending the vetting clock.
MFRS conversion scope underestimation. Companies converting from MPERS to MFRS routinely find that MFRS 15 requires revenue to be recognised later than under previous policies. Where restated profit falls below the Main Market Profit Test threshold (aggregate MYR 20 million after-tax across three to five years, minimum MYR 6 million in the most recent year), the listing timeline must extend until the threshold is met on the restated basis.
Tax investigation exposure. Any Inland Revenue Board investigation covering years within the track record period requires prospectus disclosure and, in some cases, provision or restatement. Discovered late, this can trigger a full prospectus revision adding months to the process.
Post-Listing Costs Companies Miss
The one-time IPO budget covers Phases 1 through 4. It does not cover the recurring annual cost of being a listed company.
The ACE Market Principal Adviser (PA) retainer obligation runs for a minimum of 3 years post-admission under the Bursa ACE Market Listing Requirements. If the PA resigns before 3 years without a replacement being appointed, the company is in breach of listing requirements. The retainer cost is adviser-specific and is not published as a benchmark.
For all three boards, the mandatory post-listing continuing obligations include: quarterly reporting to Bursa; audited annual accounts; material transaction disclosure; RPT shareholder approval framework; and MCCG 2021 governance compliance statements.
Sustainability disclosure under IFRS S1 and S2 became mandatory for Main Market companies with MYR 2 billion or more market capitalisation from annual periods beginning 1 January 2025 (Group 1). Remaining Main Market companies: 1 January 2026 (Group 2). ACE Market companies: 1 January 2027 (Group 3). The compliance programme for sustainability disclosure is a recurring cost that does not appear in the one-time listing cost table.
See the forthcoming companion articles on corporate governance readiness (/blog/corporate-governance-readiness-for-listing-malaysia) and data-room readiness for IPO due diligence (/blog/data-room-readiness-for-ipo-due-diligence).
Reading the Ranges
The ranges in this article are market observations from named practitioner sources, not regulatory prescriptions. ACE Market listings with complex group structures and extensive RPT histories will cost more than the top of the ACE range. Main Market listings for straightforward, well-prepared companies may cost less than the bottom of the Main Market range. The percentage-of-raise framework (5% to 15%, Grant Thornton Malaysia 2025) is the most defensible cross-transaction benchmark because it scales with offering size.
The Bursa fee schedule was revised in October 2025 following SC approval. Specific revised fee amounts are not reproduced here because they could not be verified from a live URL at the publication date. Readers modelling IPO costs should confirm the current Bursa listing fee schedule from bursamalaysia.com and the SC processing fee structure from sc.com.my before completing any financial model.
For eligibility requirements, board composition, governance pre-conditions, and the full readiness sequence, see the Malaysia IPO Readiness Checklist. For a side-by-side comparison of the structural differences between Main Market, ACE Market, and LEAP Market, see Main Market vs ACE Market vs LEAP Market.
Editorial content. Not legal, regulatory, or compliance advice.
Sources: Bursa Malaysia Main Market Listing Requirements (consolidated 1 July 2023); Bursa Malaysia ACE Market Listing Requirements (consolidated, amendments through 2024); SC Equity Guidelines R7-2024 (20 December 2024); SC Prospectus Exposure Register (accessed 2026-05-25), including KK Mart Retail Berhad, Big Caring Group Bhd, SQ Advanced Interconnect Berhad, Sunway Healthcare Holdings Berhad, MTT Shipping and Logistics Berhad, and SkyeChip Berhad (all Main Market, 2025-2026); Grant Thornton Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia Listing Requirements and IPO Process (2025); Crowe Malaysia, IPO in Malaysia: Listing Costs and Process (2023).