SC CONTINUES TO IMPLEMENT INITIATIVES ON FINANCIAL LITERACY, PROMOTE RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL BEHAVIOUR

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21  -- The Securities Commission (SC) will continue to execute initiatives under the Malaysia National Strategy for Financial Literacy together with Bank Negara Malaysia and  Financial Education Network members to elevate financial literacy among Malaysians and promote responsible financial behaviour in the next few years.

“Similarly, investor education will remain a key priority for the SC,” it said in its Capital Market Master Plan 3 (2021-2025) report released today.

The regulator said Malaysia has also seen a change in how individual retail investors participate in shareholder meetings and exercise their rights, and with the movement control orders, the country has seen a shift into virtual and hybrid general meetings.

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“A survey conducted by the SC revealed that virtual and hybrid general meetings resonated with investors across different age groups and the level of engagement during these meetings remained positive,” it said. 

Moving forward, the SC said it would continue to encourage the adoption of digital tools to promote meaningful engagements between the board, senior management, and shareholders at general meetings.

“Stakeholder communications could also be strengthened through digital platforms and tools, setting up better collaborations to promote effective shareholder participation and by engaging youth on corporate governance (CG) topics and issues.”  

It said the growth of investor activism and advocacy, in particular among retail investors, was underpinned by the promotion of transparency through disclosures and investor education.

As such, the SC said it would continue to promote accurate and effective disclosures by market participants to enable investors to make informed decisions.

Besides that, the SC is committed to adopting principles-based regulations more extensively where appropriate which entails the reviewing of regulations in a holistic manner, making provisions for principles-based regulations and replacing prescriptive rules where possible over the next five years.

Key factors taken into consideration to shape regulations are the objectives that the regulations intend to achieve; nature of the market that benefits from principles-based regulations; sophistication of the market participants and market structure; and the SC’s regulatory readiness to supervise and enforce principles-based regulations.

“As part of the journey forward, the SC will refine how principles-based regulations will be adopted as well as work with market participants to facilitate and provide greater support for compliance

“The SC will focus on enabling regulated entities on multiple fronts, some of which are currently in practice, but are expected to be enhanced to be more efficient in the transition towards principles-based regulations,” it added.

In line with the greater adoption of principles, it said the focus on culture and conduct of regulated entities would be enhanced. “It is important that firms take ownership of their culture that entails identifying and shaping the drivers of good culture, which will, in turn, shape the behaviour and conduct of their employees and representatives.” 

-- BERNAMA