Malaysian stock exchange Bursa Malaysia is seeking to collaborate with fintech companies or other strategic partners in a bid to strengthen its value proposition, increase its agility as well as efficiency.

Bursa Malaysia said that such efforts would help the exchange grow, capture new opportunities, innovate, and remain relevant in this fast-changing financial landscape.

Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia said in a statement to Bernama,

“We are open as to potential collaboration and the nature of the same.

We also look towards investment and adoption of new financial technologies through proof-of-concept (PoC) and investment in startups, in an effort to accelerate the adoption of new technology and with new partners to benefit the wider industry and drive the growth of the capital market”.

Bursa Malaysia has successfully completed two proof-of-concepts (POC), one of which was with blockchain development company Hashstacs (STACS) for the growth of the bond marketplace at the Labuan Financial Exchange (LFX).

Bursa Malaysia added that it may also explore mergers and acquisitions (M&A) should the opportunity arise in the future although there are no immediate plans to merge with any exchange at this time.

It was reported that Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) is exploring mergers and acquisitions to drive its ambitions as a multi-asset exchange.

Bursa Malaysia said that it has worked synergistically with SGX for mutual benefit for many years now via the ASEAN Exchanges collaboration.

Commenting on SGX’s plan, Muhamad Umar said the local bourse sees SGX as a strong competitor and as a partner.

“We will also continue to engage in collaborations and knowledge sharing with specific peer exchanges. However, there are no plans to merge with any exchange, at this time”, he added.

He stressed that Bursa Malaysia will continue to look for opportunities to collaborate towards contributing to the growth of ASEAN economy, specifically across the capital markets of ASEAN.

Bursa Malaysia added that it remains focused on the growth in capabilities to serve its stakeholders and the expansion of its offerings.

Featured image via Wikimedia Commons