New Initiatives in the Malaysian Capital Market

This book covers the most recent initiatives in the Malaysian capital market. In doing so, it discusses the Leading Entrepreneur Accelerator Platform Market (LEAP Market), and Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC). With regard to the LEAP Market, the book elaborates on its inception, value proposition, governance, performance, issues, and strengths. It also compares LEAP Market with the Main and ACE Markets, and draws the experience of the Korea New Exchange (KONEX) for LEAP Market to emulate and improve its operation, showing how KONEX provides valuable lessons for Malaysia's LEAP Market, as the former has two times more listed firms than the latter. Similarly, the book also includes discussions on the inception of SPAC, its features, volumes, risk, issues, strength, life cycle and time frame of SPAC IPO, and includes case studies of the four firms listed under SPAC IPO. Put together, the book offers a compilation of facts, analysis and insights from these new market initiatives, and provides a reference for the financial market industry, regulators, market practitioners, analysts, researchers, government authorities and universities. Hon-Wei Leow is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Accounting and Finance, Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation. He received his PhD (Applied Finance) from University of Malaya in 2020 and BBA and MBA (Applied Finance and Investment) from the National University of Malaysia in 2010 and 2012 respectively. He has strong interest in the research of initial public offerings. He published in various journals such as Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies, International Journal of Business and Society, and Indonesian Capital Market Review. Wee Yeap Lau is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Malaya. He is an Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute, ISBIS Council Member and Associate Research Fellow of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER). He was a MEXT Scholar at Osaka University and Visiting Scholar at the Risk Management Institute, National University of Singapore. In addition to two edited books with a University Press, he has published over 80 articles in journals and book chapters and presented at numerous conferences. He received his PhD and Master in Economics from Osaka University. He also attended an Executive Program at Bendheim Center for Finance, Princeton University. He specialises in the economics of finance and investment.