Datuk Syed Zaid Albar
KUALA LUMPUR: The local financial technology (fintech) landscape is growing at a rapid pace as it continues to serve the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as the new generation of investors.
Securities Commissions (SC) chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar said currently there are 21 equity crowdfunding (ECF) and Peer-to-Peer financing (P2P) platforms registered with SC which has collectively raised RM587 million for more than 1,600 MSMEs.
“These platforms will continue to serve a number of MSME sector including high tech, education, retail, food and beverages, and young investors below 35,” he told a media conference after launching the sixth edition of SCxSC Fintech conference here yesterday.
He added that with the increasing interest surrounding fintech, players need to eye the Islamic capital market, not only in terms of sukuk and equities but also fund management.
“We believe that Islamic fintech is a largely untapped market segment in our current ecosystem and has a great potential to be unlocked further,” he said.
From the digital forefront, Syed Zaid said it is important to harness the full potential of technology in promoting the capital market, as it could act as a key enabler for economic growth and transformation.
“Looking ahead to 2020, we will continue to advance our digital agenda by building our foundations laid over the last few years,” he said.
As of date, the SC has newly approved two digital investment management which is known as robo-advisors named Raiz Invest Ltd as well as RoboWealth, which will be fully operational in early 2020.
“Today, Malaysia has three licensed and fully operational robo-advisors namely StashAway, MyTHEO and Wahed. We continue to see strong interest in this space and will continue to facilitate its growth,” he said.
Attended by more than 800 participants and speakers, the SCxSC two-day conference discusses issues related to fintech entrepreneurship, digital identity verification, digital assets, Islamic fintech and artificial intelligence in cybersecurity. — Bernama