KUALA LUMPUR: Businesses in Malaysia must begin planning and preparing now to be able to leverage the opportunities that come with the eventual post-pandemic recovery, said Capital Markets Malaysia (CMM).
Among the factors to be considered are production capacity, resources and investments that require funding, which is what the businesses will have to begin securing.
"One of the funding avenues for businesses to grow, beyond the traditional source of banks, is to leverage the capital market funds and the ELEVATE programme will provide them with the tools and training to help them do that," said CMM general manager Zalina Shamsudin.
She said funding was a key element for businesses to be able to ride the recovery wave or help them to reach the recovery period and our objective is to elevate their game to become investment-ready for fundraising through the capital market.
The 12-month ELEVATE programme from CMM, an affiliate of the Securities Commission (SC), is tailored specifically to coach and mentor companies within the mid-tier segment of Malaysia's economy that have the potential to grow their businesses to the next level.
Mid-tier companies are defined by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) as manufacturing sector enterprises with annual revenues of RM50 million to RM500 million, and service sector enterprises with annual revenues of RM20 million to RM200 million.
Funded in part by the Capital Market Development Fund (CMDF), ELEVATE provided guidance on business redesign strategies, fundraising models and access to financing through the capital market, CMM said.
CMM said the importance of branding and recognising the importance of branding, understanding key elements of business management and corporate integrity such as legal principles, governance and ethics are also included in the programme.
Complementing that are modules on how to evaluate a company's current structure, financials and internal controls to produce an effective road map with detailed steps to professionalise the business, optimise a business plan and equity story that will entice investors.
Malaysian Consortium of Mid-Tier Companies (MCMTC) president Callum Chen said many mid-tier companies are working their way towards listing, but without proper knowledge about the listing process, valuation of their company, options on funding, SC compliance and investor's expectations.
He said many companies subsequently regret not having prior knowledge of these before embarking on their listing exercise.
"The ELEVATE programme provided by CMM is indeed very timely and looking back many listed company bosses probably wished that the elevate program was around when they were thinking of listing," he said.