The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has appointed Kamarudin Hashim and Datin Azalina Adham as its new Managing Directors, effective 1 January 2023.
Kamarudin Hashim and Datin Azalina Adham will assist the SC Chairman in setting the overall strategic direction for the Malaysian capital market and in overseeing the SC’s dual mandate of capital market regulation and development.
The two Managing Directors will continue to oversee their current portfolios of Market and Corporate Supervision (under the supervision of Kamarudin Hashim), and Strategy and Policy (under the supervision of Datin Azalina Adham).
Deputy Chief Executive Datuk Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin steps down
The Malaysian regulator also announced that its Deputy Chief Executive Datuk Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin will step down on 11 January 2023 to pursue other interests.
Dato’ Seri Dr. Awang Adek Hussin said, said: “Datuk Zainal Izlan has helped lead the growth of the Islamic Capital Market, and the SC’s Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) agenda, both in Malaysia and abroad. On behalf of the Board and staff of the SC, I wish him the best in his future endeavours.”
The SC Chairman praised Datuk Zainal Izlan for his excellent service and substantial contributions to the development of the capital market.
CFD trading in Malaysia: Only Shares and Indices. No Forex
Earlier this year, FinanceFeeds published a piece providing insight into the state of CFD trading in Malaysia, including rules, regulations and restrictions.
It was recently reported by SC Malaysia, that many big name CFD brokers are registering Malaysian clients under offshore regulations and warned public against them and regular alerts are being issued in this regard, which is unsafe for the clients as they don’t have protection of the local regulator, and makes it somewhat illegal in Asian countries for these traders to pay these brokers as it falls under grey area.
The Securities Commission of Malaysia released its CFD framework in 2018 to govern and regulate CFD trading in Malaysia. Brokers and other intermediaries need to obtain licenses under these regulations in order to operate in Malaysia.
They are also required to report their transactions under these regulations. Several of the leading global CFD brokers have been banned by the Securities Commission from offering their services in Malaysia.
Forex CFD trading is not allowed by the SC of Malaysia as of date. The Securities Commission of Malaysia only allows CFD brokers to offer shares and indices. Further, there are several guidelines pertaining to which shares and indices can be offered by a broker to Malaysian clients. As mentioned earlier, the SC does not permit forex CFDs.
