KUALA LUMPUR (March 28): The total funds raised via peer-to-peer (P2P) financing reached RM1.14 billion in 2021, more than twice the amount of funds raised in 2020, according to the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC)’s 2021 annual report revealed on Monday (March 28).

Since its inception, total funds raised via P2P financing stood at RM2.29 billion.

A total of 1,988 issuers fundraised in 2021 — an increase by 49% from 2020. The fundraising was successfully carried out via 14,301 campaigns.

The majority of issuers in 2021 were based in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

Technology-focused issuers decreased to 11% in 2021, from 36% in 2020, while half of total issuers in 2021 have been in operation for less than five years.

Campaign sizes in 2021 continued to be of smaller fundraising amounts, with 70% of campaigns raising RM50,000 and below.

The “Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles” sector remained the largest sector served in 2021, with RM514.41 million.

A total of 54% of investment notes in 2021 were issued for invoice, business, and micro-financing. Other types of financing included distinct product offerings from various recognised market operators (RMOs).

The majority of campaigns continued to trend towards shorter-term financing in 2021, with tenures of three months or less.

The purpose of fundraising in 2021 continued to be predominantly for working capital.

Since P2P financing was first introduced, the total number of participating investors surpassed 28,000.

For a year-on-year comparison, investor participation decreased from more than 16,000 in 2020 to more than 15,000 in 2021.

Read more stories from the SC Annual Report 2021 here.