Securities Commission Malaysia announced today the liberalisation of equity crowdfunding (ECF) limit to RM 10 million from the previous limit of RM 5 Million. This was announced during their Annual Report media conference which was held virtually.

This is in response to the growing popularity of alternative fundraising methods, especially among MSMEs. In 2019, alternative fundraising methods like equity crowdfunding and P2P financing saw a 127% growth to RM 400 million while fundraising through venture capital and private equity saw an 8% contraction to RM 600 million.

To date, ECF and P2p financing have successfully helped 1943 SMEs raised over RM 700 million.

Image Credit: Securities Commission Malaysia Annual Report 2019

Observing heightened interests by MSMEs to tap into alternative fundraising channels, the SC today also lifted fundraising limits on Equity Crowdfunding (ECF) platforms, and allowed ECF and peer-to-peer financing (P2P) platforms to operationalise secondary trading, both
with immediate effect.

From now till 30 September 2020, the government co-investment fund MyCIF, administered by the SC, has also increased its funding matching ratio from 1:4 to 1:2 for eligible ECF and P2P campaigns, to provide additional liquidity into the alternative fundraising space.