Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 22): Malaysia is one of the most benchmarked markets in the region when it comes to the regulation of alternative financing, World Bank lead financial economist Dr Margaret Miller said today.

"What we clearly see, based on the responses that we have got from other regulators, is that Malaysia is one of the most benchmarked against [other] regulatory frameworks in alternate financing and is one of the top ones in the Asia Pacific," said Miller.

She was speaking to reporters at the launch of the World Bank and Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance's "Regulating Alternative Finance — Results from a Global Regulator Survey".

Miller said the field of alternative finance is relatively new and expanding rapidly, and that regulators in different countries are looking at the rules and regulations present in other jurisdictions.

She said the global trends show that countries without a clear alternative financing regulatory framework tend to park alternative finance regulations under existing securities market, banking and lending regulations.

"What we see is that in this jurisdiction, to deal [with] this kind of new business coming up, they [regulators] are adapting to what they have and regulating it under existing regulatory frameworks.

"However, the move is more towards bespoke or tailor made regulations," she remarked.

Miller said regulators have indicated to her and her research team that there is a huge opportunity to ensure small businesses and immediate consumers, who have traditionally been unable to access financing, get financing through alternative financing.

This move will therefore increase competition in financial markets globally, she said.

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