A relatively small country in South East Asia with a population of around 30 million people, Malaysia is well known around the world as a prime holiday destination. It is also famous for its World’s tallest twin towers, the Petronas Towers. But Malaysia has much more to offer to the world than just a holiday destination. As one of the world’s largest producer’s of palm oil and a leader in numerous industries, Malaysia has been considered one of the economic tigers of South East Asia. This rapidly emerging economy is also well known within the financial sector as a pioneering center for Islamic financing. In terms of Islamic bonds issuances, Malaysia is the undisputed leader of the “Sukuk” market. Malaysian issued Islamic bonds currently account for more than 60% of the global Islamic bonds issuances. In this respect, Malaysia is considered to be a major player in the global financial markets especially in the area of sharia compliant instruments.
Through the Malaysian government’s economic transformation plans, the Malaysian’s financial markets have been growing in depth and width. While it is still not the global leader in the area of Islamic banking in terms of assets, a title held by Saudi Arabia, its significant holdings of Islamic finance assets has resulted in Malaysia being ranked as the top 2 countries in the world holding sharia compliant financial assets. In fact, the efforts of the Malaysian government have helped the country’s financial markets to grow into a well monitored and mature trading environment.
Although the Malaysian financial markets are tightly monitored, it is not to the extent of curtailing market innovations. This is one of the key reasons why binaries trading in Malaysia have become extremely popular and is not deemed illegal. The only restriction which the central bank has, Bank Negara, is to require that it be informed of any transfer of funds to another country that is in excess of the amount of 10,000 Malaysian ringgit.
Best Broker for Malaysia
Malaysia itself does not have any domestically based binary brokers. As such the next best thing for Malaysian binary options traders is to sign up for a trading account with brokers that are reputable and CySEC regulated.
Regulations
In Malaysia, the Central Bank, Bank Negara and the Securities Commission of Malaysia are the two financial regulatory bodies that are in charge of regulating and licensing financial services providers in the country. The main task of the Securities Commission (SC) includes the following:
- Approving corporate bond issues
- Encouraging self regulation and proper conduct of licensed individuals and market institutions
- Licensing and supervision of all licensed individuals
- Regulating matters regarding futures contracts and securities
- Regulating Takeovers and Mergers
- Regulating unit trust schemes
- Supervision of the stock exchange, central depositories and clearing houses
At the end of the day, the Securities Commission’s task is the protection of investors in the financial markets. Apart from its regulatory functions, the Securities Commission is obligated legally to encourage development of the financial markets in Malaysia.
At the apex of the financial regulatory authorities in Malaysia is the Bank Negara, the central bank of Malaysia. Its main functions are:
- Acting as the Government’s Advisor and Banker
- Controlling the Foreign Exchange Reserves
- Ensuring all Financial Institutions within Malaysia adheres to the Malaysian Financial regulations
- Monitoring the Ringgit Exchange rate ensuring that it is in line with the economy’s fundamentals
- Overseeing Malaysia’s Forex Market
So asides from the various functions mentioned above, the Malaysian financial regulatory authorities do not in any way prevent Malaysian citizens or residents from trading forex or binary options online. Restrictions if any are mainly targeted towards operations within the borders of the country. For example, it is illegal for any individuals to participate in the financial industry or accept any deposits without any prior approval and documentation from Bank Negara.
While it is not illegal for anyone to engage in binary options trading in Malaysia, binary options traders in Malaysia have to take note of the fact that for any remittance above 10,000 ringgit, Bank Negara needs to be informed. Bank Negara started to impose this restriction in the light of the Asian Financial crisis in 1997 when the ringgit came under attack from currency speculators. As a result of the crisis, the ringgit lost half of its value. Today to maintain control of the situation, Bank Negara placed the capital control restrictions to track and monitor inflow and outflow of the ringgit.
Deposit Methods Available In Malaysia
Being a country with a well developed economy, the financial system in Malaysia is sound and supports numerous International payment transfer options. In addition, the country is host to more than 2 million migrant workers who send remittances back to their home countries on a regular basis.
As a prime holiday destination and shopping paradise, Malaysian businesses and banks accept all international credit cards. In addition ewallets such as Skrill MoneyBookers, NETELLER and Paypal are widely accepted. Other widely available methods of fund transfer include Western Union, MoneyGram, IME Remit are also popular choices of fund transfer methods in Malaysia.
FAQ
- Is it legal to trade binaries in Malaysia?
Yes. Malaysia does not impose any restrictions on this kind of trading.
- Are binaries regulated in Malaysia?
No. Binary options trading is not regulated in Malaysia as there is no legal framework to regulate it. In addition, most brokers are based offshore and as such do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Malaysian financial regulatory authorities.
- How to trade binaries in Malaysia?
To trade binaries in Malaysia, you need to first sign up with a broker for a trading account. As there are no Malaysian binary options broker that are based in the country, binary options traders in Malaysia are recommended to only deal with reputable and CySEC regulated brokers.