PM to launch SC capital market welfare fund for B40

KUALA LUMPUR - The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) will be establishing a "Tabung Kebajikan Pasaran Modal” to assist students from the B40 group to access tertiary education.

The capital market welfare fund will provide the necessary financial aid and help to build future capital market talent, SC chairman Datuk Seri Dr Awang Adek Hussin said in his keynote speech at the Malaysian Investment Banking Association (Miba) annual dinner on Friday.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will launch the fund before the end of the year.

"This initiative (the fund) forms a part of the Malaysian capital market’s contribution towards the national agenda of a more inclusive Malaysia,” Awang Adek said.

He urged Miba and its members, together with Association of Stockbroking Companies Malaysia, Malaysia Association of Asset Managers, Bursa Malaysia and the public listed companies to contribute generously.

He also urged Miba members to work together to reinvigorate the market, and this involves participating in numerous efforts aimed at including a larger segment of society in the market.

Awang Adek also said the SC, via investED, plans to reach out to 9,000 university students through nationwide career talks and fairs and enable 2,400 university students and graduates to take capital market introductory foundation programmes.

"InvestED is one of our more important initiatives that can groom the graduates into something that are not only acceptable but also employable.

"Furthermore, the objective is to prepare 600 young graduates through the leadership programme which includes six-month job placements in the industry,” he said.

The SC has also come up with various initiatives to improve the state of the market, including reducing stamp duties and board lot size, as well as enabling fractional share trading.

The SC’s other initiatives include widening the funding base to include financing for MSMEs, as well as larger businesses and allowing dual-class shares on Bursa Malaysia.

"We also intend to ease the process for companies wanting to list. This includes expediting the initial public offering process, reducing time-to-market and enabling an automatic promotion mechanism for the ACE Market to the Main Market for eligible public listed companies,” he said. - BERNAMA