KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd, TNG Digital Sdn Bhd (TNGD) and Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd have inked a memorandum of collaboration to enable investors to participate in the stock market through TNGD’s digital platform.
With the feature, which is expected to be launched early next year, retail investors will be able to access a wider array of investment products listed on Bursa Malaysia via the Touch ‘n Go (TNG) eWallet’s GOinvest. In addition, investors will be able to invest and monitor their GOinvest portfolios within a single app.
The initiative is part of the exchange’s ongoing efforts to democratise equity investments and promote financial inclusion among Malaysians.
Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said active retail participation benefits individual investors in terms of wealth generation, enhances market liquidity and depth, boosting economic growth.
“As at end of September 2023, local retail participation in the equities market accounted for 27%, equivalent to RM545.3 million or more than a quarter of the overall average daily trading value.
“With TNG Digital’s 15 million verified eKYC Touch ‘n Go e-wallet users and Affin Hwang Investment Bank’s share trading facilities and capability, we are poised to significantly boost retail penetration in the stock market,” he said in his welcome remarks at the signing event yesterday.
He said the solution will start with a sandbox model for testing purposes, as it needs to ensure that the regulations and features are consistent with existing rules.
The solution which is expected to be made available next year, aims for 100,000 central depository system (CDS) accounts to be opened within the first year of launch.
“We intend to launch the solution to the public in the first quarter of 2024 and if we can expedite that, we will ... that experience has to be right. You will run through the sandbox, then have a beta and only then, do we come to market with a solution,” said Umar.
He declined to share details on fees but said that “any solution will need to be competitive”.
Currently, the exchange has 3.14 million registered CDS account holders. Out of the total, 2.12 million are retail CDS accounts, though only 1.4 million are actively engaged in trading.
However, Umar said that these figures represent only a small proportion of Malaysia’s 22 million adult population, leaving a huge untapped potential of 19 million adults for investment penetration.
Affin Hwang as the broker partner, will assist investors by offering greater market access, research resources, real-time market data and customer support.
