This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on January 16, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Tycoon Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, whose company Country Heights Holdings Bhd is planning to issue its own initial coin offering (ICO) called the “Horse Currency”, has called on regulators to ensure that the digital currency law will “not be lopsided” and “merely oriented to financial services”.

The founder and executive chairman of Country Heights also expressed hope that the regulation will not limit the development of blockchain technology, especially for utility-based tokens.

Lee said Country Heights is still waiting for the regulatory framework to be issued by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), which is slated to be launched by end-March, before progressing with its ICO.

Country Heights is planning to issue one billion of the Horse Currency backed by RM2 billion worth of physical assets, with an initial 300 million open to the public for circulation.

He added that all entrepreneurs should be able to benefit from this era of shared economy by using blockchain technology and tokenisation to realise the dreams of each and every individual.

“As an entrepreneur, we will be anxiously waiting for the framework, and will compare it against those which have been previously issued in Malta, Singapore, Hong Kong and the US,” Lee said in a statement yesterday.

“My dream and deepest hope are that Malaysian entrepreneurs can have access to capital without paying high interest and instead use a profit-sharing model. With this regulatory framework, this dream will come one step closer.

“We should be able to walk tall in this digital world,” he added.

Besides Country Heights, the government is also planning to roll out the Harapan Coin, which would be the world’s first political fundraising platform that uses cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies.

The Capital Markets and Services (Prescription of Securities) (Digital Currency and Digital Token) Order 2019 came into force yesterday. Following this, any person offering an ICO or operating a digital asset exchange will require authorisation by the SC.

Those who fail to do so could face a fine not exceeding RM10 million and serve up to 10 years in prison.