From left: Bursa Intelligence director Wong Chiun Chiek, Bursa Malaysia Bhd CEO Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) CEO Datuk Nor Azimah Abdul Aziz and SSM deputy CEO Rezy Izwan Ramli.
PETALING JAYA: SME X Platform aims to serve as a medium to nurture growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) towards an initial public offering (IPO) and contribute to the progressive development of the economy.
The platform was launched as a collaboration between Bursa Malaysia Bhd
and the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) to support corporate fundraising and business investment opportunities.
Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said the launch of the SME X Platform supports a key imperative of the bourse to help companies raise funds for growth and expansion.
“With the SME X Platform, we are helping to connect quality SMEs in need of raising funds with parties that have capital to deploy.
“This will be in the form of equity through IPOs or debt fundraising through the recently launched BR Capital as well as private entities, venture capitals and other financial institutions,” he said at the SME X Platform launch.
He said both parties realised the potential of leveraging data analytics skills to boost the contribution of SMEs to the economy.
“Businesses stand to benefit significantly from data analytics, as it allows businesses to make more precise and informed decisions, reducing risks and increasing the likelihood of success,” he added.
CCM chief executive officer Datuk Nor Azimah Abdul Aziz said the SME X Platform reflects a shared commitment to deliver a new data ecosystem that will facilitate the development of in-depth analytics and solutions for the fund-raising community in Malaysia.
To facilitate the seamless integration of data within the platform, she said CCM has contributed the Corporate Business Information Data (CIBD).
The CIBD has key statutory company information on over 650,000 companies, including data from 200,000 companies which recorded the highest revenue over the past three years.
“We hope the data contribution from CCM, combined with the data from Bursa Malaysia, will constitute a significant step towards fostering a robust data ecosystem within the SME X Platform, in delivering current and valuable insights for informed decision making,” she said.
Nor Azimah added that CCM hopes the collaboration will generate substantial benefits in line with the National Data Sharing Policy (NSDP), underscoring the group’s commitment to align with national initiatives.
“We also envisaged other objectives within the memorandum of understanding (MoU), which includes fostering the digital economy growth in Malaysia in line with the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint.
“This includes promoting environmental, social and governance agenda in the Malaysian business ecosystem,” she said.
Bursa Intelligence director Wong Chiun Chiek said the group is open to new strategic partnerships with partners to provide further innovation to help its stakeholders and build markets.
“Bursa Malaysia now has a rich and varied datasets from our various collaborations,” he said.
The information spans across the capital market, fund flows, private entities via collaboration with CCM, macroeconomic insights via collaboration with the Statistics Department as well as its Centralised Sustainability Intelligence platform.
The SME X Platform is a result of the MoU signed by Bursa Malaysia and CCM at the end of 2022, which among others was to enhance data analytics for strategic business decisions in line with the NDSP.
It is currently in its initial roll-out phase and is accessible on a subscription basis.
