Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd (Rakuten Trade) announced the appointment of Mr Kazumasa Mise as its Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, effective 16 October 2020, following approval from Securities Commission Malaysia.

Mise replaces Mr Kaoru Arai, who was the Managing Director of Rakuten Trade since its launch in May 2017. Arai was responsible for the company being named Fintech Company of the Year in 2018 and for steering the company in achieving profitability in less than three years. Arai will be assuming the role of Director of International Business and will lead Rakuten Trade’s efforts in its regional expansion.

Rakuten Trade is a joint venture between Rakuten Securities, Inc. (RSec) in Japan and Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad, and the only completely digital equities broker in Malaysia.

Mise relocated to Kuala Lumpur in 2017 and according to their statement, he played a fundamental role in the establishment of Rakuten Trade together with Arai. He was previously Rakuten Trade’s Head of Business Marketing before becoming its Chief Marketing Officer.

Prior to Rakuten Trade, he was with RSec for 13 years where he honed his expertise in Japanese equities’ business, focusing on boosting margin trading and exchange-traded fund (ETF). He holds a Bachelor of Science (Finance and Economics) from the Syracuse University, New York, USA.