Yes. Selected ACE Market counters can secure a stock loan, but the advance follows liquidity, so a thinly traded ACE counter supports less than a liquid Main Market name. Sponsor oversight, post-listing moratoriums on major shareholders' shares and Guidance Note 3 on financial distress also shape what a lender will do.
Key takeaways
- Eligible, selectively. Only selected ACE Market counters are accepted, each assessed on its own trading value, free float, volatility and concentration.
- Smaller advances on thin counters. Where a counter trades thinly, the same ringgit holding is a larger multiple of daily trading value, which pulls the advance down.
- Different listing rules. ACE listings are approved by Bursa Malaysia through a Sponsor, which the company must keep for a period after listing.
- A staged moratorium. Major shareholders' ACE shares are locked up in stages after listing, rather than for a single six-month period.
- GN3, not PN17. Financial distress on the ACE Market is governed by Guidance Note 3, and a GN3 classification is a hard screen for a lender.
How is the ACE Market different for a lender?
The ACE Market is Bursa Malaysia's sponsor-driven market for smaller, high-growth companies, and its admission and continuing rules differ from the Main Market's. For a lender, that usually means a younger issuer, a shorter trading record and a counter whose liquidity has to be checked rather than assumed.
Since 1 January 2022, Bursa Malaysia has been the sole approving authority for ACE Market listings, with applications made through a Sponsor. A Main Market listing, by contrast, needs the Securities Commission's approval before Bursa Malaysia admits the shares. After listing, an ACE company must keep a Sponsor for at least three full financial years, or one full financial year after it first generates operating revenue, whichever is later.
How much can I borrow against an ACE stake?
There is no fixed figure: the advance is set counter by counter from liquidity, free float, volatility and concentration, exactly as on the Main Market. Where an ACE counter is small or trades thinly, the same ringgit position is a larger multiple of its daily trading value, which pulls the advance down.
The reason is the lender's exit. If a facility were ever enforced, the shares would have to be sold into the market, and a thin order book moves the price against the seller. Our note on what sets the LTV on a Bursa share explains how each driver moves the advance; none of them is unique to the ACE Market, but they often bite harder there.
Which ACE rules apply to a charge?
Three ACE Market rules matter most: the post-listing moratorium in Rule 3.19 of the ACE Market Listing Requirements, Guidance Note 3 on financial condition, and the continuing Sponsor requirement. The charge itself is created the same way as on the Main Market, through the central depository.
Under Rule 3.19, the entire holding of the company's specified shareholders (broadly, controlling shareholders, persons connected to them and executive directors who are substantial shareholders) is under moratorium for six months from admission. Shares amounting to at least 45% of the company's issued shares then stay under moratorium for a further six months, after which up to one-third a year can be released.
The moratorium restricts selling, transferring and assigning the shares, so a lender cannot simply take moratorium shares as ordinary collateral; how the release dates shape a facility is set out in financing moratorium shares after an IPO. Once shares are free, they are charged under section 40 of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991 into the lender's Pledged Securities Account, a label explained in our note on what "Pledged Securities Account" means.
| Rule area | Main Market | ACE Market |
|---|---|---|
| Admission and sponsor | The Securities Commission approves the IPO; Bursa Malaysia then admits the shares. No continuing Sponsor. | Bursa Malaysia approves the listing, applied for through a Sponsor, who must be retained for at least three full financial years after admission or one full financial year after operating revenue begins, whichever is later. |
| Moratorium | Set by the SC's Equity Guidelines: for profit and market-capitalisation test listings, the entire holding of shareholders under moratorium for six months from listing. | Set by Rule 3.19: the entire holding of specified shareholders for six months, then at least 45% of issued shares for six more months, then releases of up to one-third a year. |
| Financial distress | Practice Note 17 (PN17). | Guidance Note 3 (GN3). |
| Liquidity | Varies by counter; includes the largest and most traded names, such as FBM KLCI constituents. | Varies by counter; companies are generally smaller, so each counter's own trading value decides. |
What if my counter rarely trades or falls under GN3?
A counter that rarely trades may support only a small advance, or none, because a lender could not sell it without moving the price. A GN3 classification is usually a hard screen, because the company must regularise its condition within the time allowed or face suspension and de-listing.
Guidance Note 3 is the ACE Market counterpart of the Main Market's Practice Note 17. A classified company must obtain approval of a regularisation plan within the prescribed period, and failing that its shares can be suspended and de-listed. Our note on PN17 and GN3 counters as collateral covers the criteria and the timetable. To check every requirement in one place, see who qualifies for a Malaysian stock loan.
What else do ACE Market shareholders ask?
01Are all ACE Market counters eligible for a stock loan?
02Is a charge over ACE Market shares different from one over Main Market shares?
03Is a newly listed ACE company harder to finance?
04Does a GN3 classification affect a facility that is already in place?
This note is general information drawn from Bursa Malaysia's ACE Market Listing Requirements and Main Market Listing Requirements and the Securities Commission's Equity Guidelines. Bursa amended the ACE Market admission rules in June 2026, so the current text should be confirmed with your Malaysian counsel. It is not legal advice or an offer of credit.
