What is Bursa Malaysia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bursa Malaysia (MYX: 1818) or Malaysia Exchange, MYX previously known as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE, Bursa Saham Kuala Lumpur in Malay) dates back to 1930 when the Singapore Stockbrokers' Association was set up as a formal organisation dealing in securities in Malaya. In 1937 it was re-registered as the Malayan Stockbrokers' Association, but it still did not trade public shares.

By 1960s, the Malayan Stock Exchange was formed and public trading of shares began on 9 May. In 1961, the Board system was introduced whereby two trading rooms, one each in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, were linked by direct telephone lines into a single market with the same stocks and shares listed at a single set of prices on both boards.

The Stock Exchange of Malaysia was officially formed in 1964 and in the following year, with the secession of Singapore from Malaysia, the common stock exchange continued to function under the name Stock Exchange of Malaysia and Singapore (SEMS).

In 1973, with the termination of currency interchangeability between Malaysia and Singapore, the SEMS was separated into The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Bhd (KLSEB) and The Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES). Malaysian companies continued to be listed on SES and vice-versa. A new company limited by guarantee, The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) took over operations of KLSEB as the stock exchange. In 1994, it was re-named Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.

Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange became a demutualised exchange and was re-named Bursa Malaysia in 2004. It consists of a Main Board, a Second Board and MESDAQ with total market capitalization of MYR700 billion (US$189 billion).

In 2005, Bursa Malaysia was listed at its own exchange on 18 March. On 18 April, Bursa Malaysia introduced CBRS, a scheme which allows all investors to access research reports of Bursa-listed companies free-of-charge.

The main index for Bursa Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI). However, in June 2006, a new index series jointly developed by Bursa Malaysia and FTSE Group was introduced which is FTSE Bursa Malaysia Index.

On November 7, 2006, the index finally passed the 1,000 mark hurdle and closed at 1,003.28. It was partly boosted by the strong overnight close in the Wall Street.

As of 31 December 2007, the Malaysia Exchange had 986 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $325 billion.[2]