A First in ASEAN: 6 P2P Lending Licenses Granted in Malaysia

By LTP

Six P2P lending licenses were granted in Malaysia recently, making them the first authorized platforms in the ASEAN region. On Thursday the Securities Commission of Malaysia said that it had registered six peer-to-peer lending platforms – B2B FinPAL, Peoplender, Ethis Kapital, ManagePay Services, Modalku Ventures and FundedByMe Malaysia.

According to SMN Weekly, the operations from these authorized crowdfunding platforms are expected to launch in 2017, which will help broaden funding avenues for SMEs. The Securities Commission also intends to start a digital investment services framework, which will enable licensees to offer automated discretionary portfolio management which is a more cost-effective, accessible and convenient channel for investors to manage and grow their wealth.

“SC’s digital agenda aims to achieve four key objectives, namely to enhance access to financing, increase investor participation, augment the institutional market and develop a synergistic ecosystem,” SC’s chairman, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Ranjit Ajit Singh, said to SMN Weekly. “Market-based financing including P2P and [equity crowdfunding] ECF will help enhance access to financing for entrepreneurs and SME businesses in Malaysia,” he added.

Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar/Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam make up the ASEAN countries. The first country in the ASEAN region to regulate P2P financing was Malaysia, which also takes the cake as the first country to introduce a regulatory framework for the ECF market. The combined amount SMEs have raised through the six regulated ECFs in the country – since 2015 (when the regulation was introduced) until October 2016 – amounted to RM8 million (about $1.9 million).

Set up in 1993 as a self-funding statutory body with investigative and enforcement powers, the Securities Commission is in charge of the securities and derivatives markets in Malaysia. The commission reports directly to the Malaysian Minister of Finance. The Securities Commission’s regulatory functions include: regulation of all matters relating to securities and derivatives contracts; licensing and supervision of exchanges, clearinghouses and central depositories; as well as encouraging self-regulation.

Check out the guidelines that the SC recently released for cyber resilience here.