An IPO (initial public offering) is the process through which a private company sells shares to the public for the first time and becomes listed on a stock exchange, such as Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market or ACE Market. Before an IPO, a company publishes a prospectus detailing its business, financials, and the terms of the offering, which is the primary source investors should review before deciding whether to apply for shares. Newly listed companies typically have less public trading history and financial disclosure to evaluate than established companies, and their share prices can be more volatile in the period immediately following listing, so the same fundamental checks used for any other stock — profitability, debt, and valuation — apply just as much to an IPO, if not more, given the shorter track record available.