Bursa: Palm oil indices, unified board in the works

STOCK market operator Bursa Malaysia Bhd is expected to launch the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Asian Palm Oil Plantation Index as early as first quarter next year.

The index, which is likely to be launched in the ETF, will comprise regional palm oil companies.

"The details haven't been finalised yet. But we are working together with FTSE to come up with that index, and probably the index will be launched in ETF," said chief executive officer Datuk Yusli Mohamed Yusoff in Putrajaya yesterday.

Besides launching the Asian palm oil index, the company is also planning to introduce the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Palm Oil Plantation Index - which solely tracks the performance of Malaysian-listed palm oil-related companies. The index will also be launched as early as first quarter next year.

Yusli also said the unified board and the "new" Mesdaq market will be launched sometime in the middle of next year.

"We expect an announcement early next year and we expect to have it in place by middle of next year," he said.

The industry was expecting the full details of the unified board, such as its listing requirements, to be announced by end of this year, as it was the timeline initially set by the authorities.

"There is still a lot of industry consultation going on. We want to get it right before we launch it," said Yusli.

With the unified board, Bursa Malaysia's main and second boards will be merged into one, while the new Mesdaq market will allow smaller companies access to the equity market at an earlier stage of their life cycle.

Business Times