KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Maybank Investment Bank (Maybank IB) sees the Malaysian initial public offering (IPO) pipeline to value at around RM3 billion in the second half of 2022 (2H22), said its chief executive officer Datuk Fad'l Mohamed.

Across the wider equity capital market (ECM), the investment bank is also seeing some traction in the merger and acquisition (M&A) and private equity (PE) space, Fad'l said at a press conference in conjunction with Maybank Invest Asean 2022 conference.

"There are still a lot of deal activities happening in the market," he said. "There is a strong ECM pipeline coming through, year to date we have seen around nine IPOs.

"Going forward in 2H22, we are seeing a total deal value of about RM3 billion on ECM coming through in sectors like consumer, retail, general industrial, TMT (technology, media and telecommunications) and transport and logistics," he added.

"On the M&A side, we see a lot of restructuring activities particularly among some of the GLCs and GLICs… We are seeing a lot of traction on the PE space, [with] buy-sell opportunities coming in, and also in-country consolidation," he said.

Meanwhile, the local debt capital market (DCM) has also remained stable with a full-year outlook of RM110 billion, Fad'l said. This compares with RM114 billion recorded in 2021, according to Securities Commission Malaysia's data.

"On DCM, we have a potential of RM6.8 billion coming up in 2H22, and potential ESG[-linked] alone is over RM6 billion.

"We have completed 33 issuances totalling RM6.3 billion… of which sustainability issuance alone is RM2.1 billion," he added.

Touching on sustainability-linked instruments, Fad'l said the investment bank is seeing opportunities for key projects that fall within the category, coupled with ample liquidity looking for such green assets.

"The other aspect is for some companies looking at transitioning, sustainability-tied instruments. Attractive proposition for a lot of clients to raise capital with clear targets in terms of the pathway of ESG.

"And on the demand side, a lot of investors are looking at this asset class, and continue to have a strong appetite to take up ESG-related papers, sustainability-tied instruments," he said.

"With economic recovery, with refinancing of large maturities coming through this year and next, the environment is definitely conducive for capital raising," he added.

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