KUALA LUMPUR (July 23): Malaysian government-owned fund manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) has introduced a micro-investing mobile application known as Raiz, which enables users to save and invest their money.

According to PNB, the app aims to provide users with a convenient platform to proactively save and invest in Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd's (ASNB) unit trust scheme under PNB.

At Raiz’s virtual launch today, PNB group chairman Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the initiative first arose when PNB employee Aidi Izham pitched his idea in the annual PNB Innovation Challenge. 

Zeti, a former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor, said Aidi’s proposal was to develop a mobile application that automatically invests the spare change from users' daily purchases.

Zeti said: “With the launch of the Raiz app and with more than 90% of Malaysians using smartphones, it means that almost anyone can start investing in this way. In today’s technological age, we no longer need to save in coin boxes, [and] instead we can do it with Raiz,” Zeti said.

PNB president and group chief executive Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn said Raiz utilises users’ virtual spare change from their daily purchases to proactively invest in ASNB funds based on their personalised investment portfolios. 

Ahmad Zulqarnain said since it was made available to users on June 1, the number of downloads of the app had surpassed 15,000 sign-ups. He said PNB targets to achieve 60,000 sign-ups by year end.

“It is a unique way for users to make the most of every sen being spent, the residual of which can be saved and invested.

"The app is available for all Malaysians to register and use. With as low as RM5 in your account, you will be able to start investing in your recommended portfolio,” he said.

According to PNB,  the app was developed by Raiz Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a joint-venture company between PNB’s subsidiary Jewel Digital Ventures Sdn Bhd and Raiz Invest Australia Ltd.