Bursa Malaysia launches ‘Invest Bursa, Invest in You’ campaign

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia aims to increase retail participation in the capital market by enhancing financial literacy among Malaysians through the launch of the “Invest Bursa, Invest in You” campaign from this month.

In a statement, Bursa Malaysia said the participation of retail or individual investors in the Malaysian capital market is currently at 22 per cent and as at July 31, 1.9 million individual Central Depository System accounts were registered with the exchange.

It also said that data collected from regional central banks and financial authorities show that Malaysia has the highest level of Fixed Deposits (FD) among regional peers. As of June 2018, FD accounts in Malaysia amounted to US$209 billion.

This compares to US$166 billion in Singapore, US$148 billion in Indonesia and US$156 billion in Thailand. The data implies that the savings of most Malaysians are locked away in FDs.

Bursa Malaysia Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan said there is an opportunity lost here when Malaysians keep most of their savings in FD accounts.

This is given that interest rates for FDs in Malaysia hover around 3.3 per cent for 12 months.

“As part of prudent asset allocation, it is advisable to diversify your financial or asset portfolio. The capital market provides a broad range of investment opportunities that can match various investment and risk appetites.

“There are different stock counters and products offering different rates of possible risks and returns, which can translate into good value growth. For instance, the financial sector, representing banking stocks, grew 6.9 per cent over the last eight months,” he added.

The nationwide campaign, which will run throughout 2019, aims to increase retail participation in the capital market through widespread education and knowledge programmes, as well as initiatives to attract and ease initial entry into the capital market. — Bernama