KUALA LUMPUR (April 16): The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) released its 2019 annual report today, which lists its initiatives, achievements, as well as its review and outlook of the Malaysian capital market.
Below are the key takeaways from the report.
SC embraces digitisation, leverages technology to be future-ready
The SC said it aspires to become an institution that is collaborative and future-ready by embracing digitisation and leveraging technology to improve communication, collaboration and social networking as well as enhance employee experience to face the future of work in the fourth industrial revolution.
SC says further liberalised short selling, market-making framework
The SC has further liberalised the short selling and market-making framework to increase the country’s market efficiency, according to the commission's 2019 annual report.
This is because market makers continue to be key in promoting liquidity and depth, given their readily available presence in the market as counterparties to investors, the SC said in the report released today (April 16).
SC: Malaysia’s Islamic capital valued at RM2.035 trillion
The SC said today the country’s Islamic capital market (ICM) grew 8.23% to RM2.035 trillion as at December 2019 from a year earlier.
In its 2019 annual report, the SC said the ICM represented 63.57% of Malaysia’s capital market.
SC: Malaysia venture capital, private equity industry committed some RM6b in 2019
The SC said today the Malaysian venture capital and private equity industry saw a total fund commitment of RM5.998 billion in 2019 during which 122 corporations were registered with the regulator.
In its 2019 annual report, the SC said investments during the year amounted to RM566.37 million.
SC: Equity crowd funding, peer-to-peer financing provided RM706m to 1,943 Malaysian micro, small and medium enterprises
The SC said today equity crowd funding and peer-to-peer financing had provided close to RM706 million in alternative funding to 1,943 Malaysian micro, small and medium enterprises.
SC to revise authorisation process for retail feeder funds
The SC will revise the authorisation process for retail feeder funds to allow faster time to market for these investment schemes.
The commission said in its 2019 annual report that for funds meeting certain parameters, their management companies will be able to submit applications without going through a pre-submission consultation process with the SC once they file documentations with the SC on their target fund selection and monitoring, as well as risk management process.
SC: Malaysia’s capital market expands to RM3.2 trillion in 2019, global developments to influence outlook
The SC said today key global developments will continue to influence the outlook for the domestic capital market in 2020 with volatility driven primarily by the direction and pace of world economic growth and monetary policy stance besides trade and geopolitical tension uncertainty.
SC to roll out enhanced IPO framework
The SC said today the country’s enhanced initial public offering (IPO) framework is targeted to be rolled out in 2020 to reinforce the shared responsibilities between the SC and approved principal advisers with a firm focus on enabling investors to make informed decisions based on adequate disclosure of risks and returns.
SC: Only 59% of M'sia public listed companies have anti-corruption policies in place
The SC said in its 2019 annual report, which was released today, that it had reviewed the anti-corruption policies of listed companies in light of the corporate liability provision (Section 17A3) in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which comes into force on June 1, 2020.
"The review found that only 59% of listed companies had anti-corruption policies in place, and the majority of these policies required enhancements to bring them in line with the Guidelines on Adequate Procedures issued by the Prime Minister’s Department.”
Market capitalisation of ETF industry at RM2.14b in 2019 — SC
Following enhancements to the Guidelines on Exchange Traded Funds in 2018, the report revealed that the SC had approved six Leveraged and Inverse (L&I) ETFs in 2019, which were subsequently listed on Bursa Malaysia.
SC to intensify efforts to create accessible, agile, accountable domestic market — chairman
This includes initiatives to expand access to financing for underserved issuers, focusing on unlisted mid-tier corporations and facilitating debt issuances by investees of private equity and venture capital funds, said chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar.