KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Digital assets traded in Malaysia have surpassed RM16 billion in value as of September 2021 since its introduction in 2019, said Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar.
He said digital asset exchanges in the country have continued to thrive this year, with over 300,000 new accounts created to date.
“Despite market uncertainties, investors’ participation in alternative and digital platforms continues to be robust. With nearly 60 per cent of individual investors under the age of 35 and accounting for more than four-fifths of participating investors, equity crowdfunding (ECF) and peer-to-peer (P2P) financing platforms are appealing to the masses,” he said in his opening remarks at the SC’s eighth annual fintech conference SCxSC, held virtually today.
Syed Zaid said during the pandemic, the regulator noted encouraging developments where ECF and P2P financing platforms have continued to meet and support the funding needs of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
There are currently 21 ECF and P2P platforms registered with the SC, which have collectively raised more than RM2.2 billion for close to 4,000 MSMEs since their inception.
Despite an initial decline in fundraising activities due to the movement control order in the first quarter of 2020, the SC stated that these alternative platforms had assisted MSMEs in raising more than RM1.3 billion in 2020.
In the first half of 2021 alone, a further RM625 million was raised through ECF and P2P, an increase of 151 per cent and 220 per cent respectively, compared to the same period in 2020.
ECF and P2P attracted young investors with nearly 60 per cent of participants aged below 35. — Bernama
