KUALA LUMPUR (May 13): Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd and Japan’s Rakuten Securities Inc, has made its maiden profit in April, after three years in operation.

The digital equity broker attributed this to activating almost 85,000 trading accounts and handling more than RM12.5 billion in total trading value on Bursa Malaysia since business day one.

Leveraging its “zero contact” platform to increase retail participation on Bursa Malaysia, RakutenTrade expects to reach 100,000 active accounts by the end of the year.

Rakuten Trade managing director Kaoru Arai said innovation and its FinTech framework have been pivotal for the company turning a profit.

"It is, though, a balancing act of being cost-effective, flexible and keeping our clients' experiences at the core of everything that we do. In less than three years, we surpassed our internal targets and continue to appeal to the rising number of technology-savvy investors in Malaysia. These investors prefer a convenient, zero contact, and easy to use mode of investing,” he said in a statement today.

As of April 30, 2020, Rakuten Trade has more than 5% share of the country's retail market, while the clients’ assets under trust have exceeded RM1 billion.

Rakuten Trade currently offers three trading platforms — Cash Upfront, Contra and RakuMargin (third party margin trading), as well as ecosystem.