Johari Abdul Ghani
KUALA LUMPUR: The Peer-to-Peer (P2P) crowdfunding platform can potentially be adopted by the Malaysian government as it is proven to be more transparent, said Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.
“The government is already giving grants now and in the future, we can potentially look into similar platforms such as this in order to create transparency with the people,” he told reporters after officiating the Digital Finance Conference 2016 and announcement of six Peer-to-Peer (P2P) operators here today.
Johari said the P2P is an important platform for small businesses to seek financing for their business.
“Today, if small businesses want to apply for financing from banks, the banks feel that it’s not economical to process that loan,” he added.
The six registered operators are B2B FinPAL, Kapital, FundedByMe Malaysia, ManagePay Services, Modalku Ventures and Peoplender.
Johari said the potential for Malaysia within the digital economy space is huge given that global P2P financing had helped raise US$25 billion in 2015.
“It is estimated that this segment will grow to US$96 billion in 2025 globally,” he added.
Johari said Malaysia could tap into the digital economy given its huge potential and in line with the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Budget 2017 that next year will be the year of the Internet Economy for Malaysia as well as the year to promote start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“I hope that with the introduction of our operators, we will also be able to leverage on this innovation to drive the growth of our local SMEs,” he added.
Last year, SMEs contributed 36 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product last year and accounted for 65 per cent of the jobs, added Johari.
Meanwhile, the Securities Commision is also set to introduce the Digital Investment Services framework next year which will allow approved licensees to offer automated discretionary portfolio management.
Chairman Tan Sri Ranjit Ajit Singh said the framework is a more cost-effective, accessible and convenient channel for investors to manage and grow their wealth.
“The Digital Investment Services framework would probably be rolled out in the first half of the year.
“We are beginning discussions at the moment, but before we launch it we want to make sure we have the structure right,” he added. – Bernama