‘MALAYSIA IS INTERESTING TEST-BED FOR FINTECH’
MDEC building ecosystem with key stakeholders to help startups grow successfully
FARAH ADILLA
KUALA LUMPUR farah.adilla@nst.com.my
MALAYSIA is an interesting test-bed for financial technology (fintech) solutions and products to launch in Southeast Asia, said Malaysia Digital Economy Corp
(MDEC) chief executive officer Datuk
Yasmin Mahmood.
“The country has a good mix of population in the urban, suburban and rural areas, which caters to a variety of target market for finhere, tech players and innovators.
“Building on its backbone as one of the global key players in Islamic finance, Malaysia’s unique proposition is that fintech players will be able to launch and serve a different market.
“This includes fintech startups and companies who previously have yet to enter fintech industry for Islamic finance, where they can test and launch syariah-compliant products in Malaysia for the region as well global market,” she said at Finnovasia KL 2017 Conference, yesterday.
“While fintech is still a new space, it will not stop MDEC from creating an organised fintech ecosystem that understands how engagement with start-ups, investors, and other innovators from around the world builds value,” said Yasmin.
“MDEC is building the fintech ecosystem with the key stakeholders and we are encouraged by the support of our regulators like Bank Negara Malaysia and Securities Commission (SC) who are here today to help fintech startups in Malaysia grow successfully,” she said.
Her statement was echoed by Bank Negara director of financial sector development department Aznan Abdul Aziz who said Malaysia was very uniquely positioned as a test-bed for innovative and technology solutions for the emerging markets.
“We are ranked highly among the top countries for the development of Islamic finance and we are recognised for our passion and commitment to advance financial inclusion agenda.”
Aznan said Malaysian consumer profiles and challenges were similar to those in the emerging markets — a middleincome country with respectable gross domestic product growth of four to five per cent per annum and a sizeable population of about 30 million with high mobile Internet growth penetration.
“As such, Malaysia provides such an ideal consumer base.”
Aznan said there was also a strong and holistic support from key stakeholders in driving not just fintech ecosystem but also ecommerce and small and medium enterprise entrepreneurship.
“Bank Negara continues to collaborate closely with our other fellow regulators and agencies such as SC and MDEC to provide infrastructure and conducive regulatory framework for vibrant fintech landscape,” he said.
The conference, conducted by Finnovasia in partnership with MDEC, sees more than 30 leading local and global fintech experts, as well as regulators and banking executives sharing exclusive insights on the latest trends, current developments and predictions for the fintech industry, globally and in Malaysia.