Large foreign-owned companies with operations outside Malaysia can now list on the main board of Malaysia Stock Exchange, Bursa Malaysia, effective as of Thursday, said Malaysiay Securities Commission (SC).

This is among the new measures announced by the commission Thursday, which are in line with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's call for the improvement of the value proposition of the stock market in this country earlier this year.

"The liberalization would enhance diversity of offerings and would promote cross-border linkages with other markets through dual-listings," said SC Chairman Zarinah Anwar in a statement released here.

Also with the new measures, "eligible Malaysian-owned corporations with foreign-based operations are now given the flexibility to seek listing without having to comply with the minimum ownership period as previously required," said the statement.

In addition, healthy Malaysian companies listed on the Main Board can seek secondary listings on foreign stock exchanges which are members of the World Federation of Exchanges with a view to attaining international recognition.

"We envisage that the liberalization would heighten the integration of Malaysian capital market internationally and expand the pool of high quality stocks on Bursa Malaysia and the range of investment opportunities for investors," said Zarinah.

Source: Xinhua