BURSA Malaysia Bhd is planning generous dividend payout totalling 36 sen for the first half of this year, on the back of a slight drop in earnings.
Its chief executive officer Datuk Tajuddin Atan said the company will distribute a 16 sen interim dividend and a 20 sen special dividend to shareholders for the first half ended June 30, despite a marginal decrease in the profit after tax and minority interest (Patami) of one per cent to RM92 million.
“For the first half of this year, operating revenue jumped three per cent to RM230.6 million, but operating expenses rose about nine per cent to RM117.6 million, due to additional headcount and higher performance reward.
“Nevertheless, cost-to-income ratio continued to be held below 50 per cent. On an annualised basis, return-on-equity improved 23 per cent, up from 21 per cent in first half of last year,” said Tajuddin in a media briefing yesterday.
Going forward, Tajuddin said Bursa will focus on building the sustainability of Malaysia’s marketplace, specifically in engaging the young.
“On the equity side, we are targeting to launch our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) index at the end of this year to further improve visibility in the regional space and be in the position to attract Socially Responsible Investment funds estimated at US$3.4 trillion (RM10.81 trillion) globally.
“Moving forward, despite uncertainties over the economic and monetary developments in key global economies, the initial public offering pipeline for Bursa Malaysia is expected to remain healthy, with a total of 10 listings by end of this month.”
According to him, all three markets recorded growth as a result of higher trading participation due to targeted outreach events and activities, specifically for equities and derivatives.
Tajuddin said these events included “Spotlight on Malaysia” series regionally and the annual flagship events such as the Palm and Lauric Oils Conference and Exhibition and Invest Malaysia Kuala Lumpur.
“Bursa Malaysia also launched the eCommunity platform called the BURSAMKTPLC to provide access accurate and objective information about the marketplace.
“In June, we launched the US Dollar denominated Refined, Bleached and Deodorised Palm Olein Futures contracts and hosted international gold industry experts at our first Gold and Precious Metals Price Outlook Symposium, targeted at retail investors and traders.”
For the year under review, the average daily trading value for securities market’s on-market trades rose four per cent to RM2.1 billion, as a result of higher trading participation from retail investors.
Average daily contracts for derivatives market grew eight per cent to 46,966 contracts largely driven by the increase in the activities of the crude palm oil futures contracts.
On the Islamic front, Bursa Suq Al-Sila (BSAS) recorded 45 per cent increase in average daily trading value to RM5.1 billion on the back of higher domestic and foreign participation due to the consistent engagement and outreach activities that are undertaken.
The average daily trading value for securities market’s on-market trades was lower by one per cent to RM2.1 billion, while average daily contracts traded for the derivatives market decreased 12 per cent to 44,082 contracts.
On the Islamic market front, the average daily trading value of BSAS remained stable at RM5.1 billion.