SC set to deepen bond market in 2017, new measures for ETFs

KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission (SC) will continue to develop and strengthen Malaysia’s key market segments, especially in further deepening the established bond and sukuk market.

Chairman Tan Sri Ranjit Ajit Singh said it would continue to work closely with the industry to look at ways to further drive growth, scale, liquidity and access across the bond and sukuk product spectrum.

“We will introduce in 2017 a centralised information repository, which will act as a point of consolidation for currently fragmented market information,” he said in the Securities Commission 2016 Annual Report released here yesterday.

He said the information repository was intended to work in tandem with the removal of mandatory ratings, providing greater transparency for timely and informed decision-making and consequently, improved secondary market liquidity.

Recognising that there was room for growth in the exchangetraded funds (ETFs) segment, the SC would introduce measures intended to spur the longterm development of the ETF market, which would encompass facilitating lower entry cost, product innovation and improved liquidity. One of the key deliverables for 2017 is a targeted liberalisation of the regulatory framework that would allow greater efficiency.

“As we pursue our development priorities, we continue to look for ways to further enhance market vibrancy,” he said.

Among others, SC would also launch the new Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance, which would emphasise on greater appreciation and internationalisation of good corporate governance practices and culture by companies and their stakeholders, and enhance disclosure of corporate governance practices, he added.