Petaling Jaya: Malaysia’s capital market surpassed most of its regional counterparts in 2024 despite experiencing net foreign stock outflows.
This resilience was driven by strong purchasing rights from several local institutional investors, stable political and macroeconomic conditions, and the rebound of the ringgit against major currencies.
According to the Securities Commission’s Annual Report 2024, the total capital market size grew 9.7% year-on-year in 2024 to RM4.2 trillion in 2024.
Domestic capital markets have grown at an average annual rate of 5.5% since 2020, with bonds and sukuks increasing by 7.1% per year, and stock market capitalization increasing by 4.0% per year.
In parallel, the Islamic Capital Market (ICM) recorded a growth of 8.5%, reaching RM2.6 trillion in 2024.
SC said ICM totals have grown at an average annual rate of 5.3% since 2020, with a 7.1% increase in Sukuk’s issued stakes and a 3.6% increase in Syariah-compliant stock.
Total funding in the equity and bond markets increased 8.7% from 2023 to RM138.9 billion compared to RM1277.7 billion the previous year. This was driven primarily by a significant increase in key funding activities, including sustained momentum in bond and sukuk issuance, including record-breaking 55 initial publications.
Alternative financing measures continued to support micro, small and medium-sized businesses in 2024, raising RM4.1 billion in 2024. This growth was largely due to the strong performance of peer-to-peer financing, as continued measures were implemented to enhance access to capital for businesses of all sizes.
Meanwhile, assets in the managed fund management industry exceeded RM1 trillion, with a growth of 9.6% at RM1.07 trillion. This expansion was driven primarily by strong performance in the global equity market.
On the enforcement side, SC received a total of 8,501 cases in 2024, including 3,910 complaints and 4,591 inquiries, a 60% increase from 2023 with 5,318 cases.
Market regulators said the increase was driven primarily by unauthorized activities and fraud, accounting for 51.4% and 62.2% of all complaints and inquiries received. “Complaints and inquiries regarding fraud and unlicensed activities have been consistently increasing, up 337% from 2019 to 2024,” he said.
The overall rise appears to be surprising, but the SC noted that it encourages more people to report fraud and unlicensed activities without becoming victims before approaching the committee.
SC said it gained insight into general trends and new modalities through complaints and inquiries received. This allowed us to take the necessary interventions quickly to curb illegal activities and prevent more people from becoming victims.
Meanwhile, according to the committee, as of December 31, 2024, there were a total of 62 active investigation cases.
The SC Annual Report 2024 noted that the investigator recorded statements from 373 individuals, obtaining half of the experts, employees, directors, and senior management positions at publicly listed companies, including investors/account holders, investment bankers, auditors, lawyers.
“This reflects the SC’s aggressive investigation into securities fraud and corporate fraud crimes,” he added.
Additionally, the SC conducted a series of raids across 14 locations across the country, gathering documentary evidence on the ongoing investigation. According to the SC, these operations were fulfilled with substantial cooperation from the individuals and businesses involved.
