Reported in The Star: 

“The Securities Commission (SC) relaxed listing requirements to allow foreign-owned companies with operations abroad to be listed on Bursa Malaysia and main board-listed Malaysian firms to have secondary listings abroad. 

The SC said eligible Malaysian-owned corporations with foreign operations would now be given the flexibility to go public without having to comply with the minimum ownership period, as previously required.
Not only would this relaxation encourage more Malaysian-owned corporations that are successful overseas to seek a listing back home, it would also support cross-border mergers and acquisitions by domestic companies and investors,” Zarinah said.” 
Malaysia has been slowed in allowing cross-border listing compared to our neighbors like Singapore and Hong Kong. Singapore, already has a number of foreign listings, allows foreign companies to list their Global Depository Receipts or shares on its SGX

Already, there are many major exchanges around the world which are attracting foreign listings. This therefore allows large and successful companies with a choice of pickings as to where they would like to have a primary or secondary listing. For example, large American companies are listed in Europe and some Asian and European companies have also found a home in the United States, either directly on major stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange or  Nasdaq, or have issued American Depository Receipts (ADRs). 
Incidentally, the sudden change of cross border listing is complementing with the recent aspiration of our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to make the Malaysian capital market more efficient.

This cross listing should confer some of the following benefits:

• The liberalization by allowing cross listing would heighten the integration of the Malaysian capital market internationally and expand the pool of high-quality stocks on Bursa Malaysia and the range of investment opportunities for investors

• By allowing large Malaysian companies to list abroad was a natural progression and would raise the profile of such firms in the international capital markets. Malaysian companies by seeking a  secondary listing abroad would raise their international recognition.

• It’s good for the long-term development of the capital markets hence making the local market more interesting.

• Its allow foreign companies who seek secondary listing here to benchmark themselves with our two strong Malaysian sectors, plantation and oil and gas  

• Cross listing would compensate for the number of potentially large Malaysian listings which have dwindled.There are fewer Astros or KLCCPs available for listing and the only big domestic listings left are Petronas and Felda.

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