On 12 February 2026, the Securities Commission Malaysia (“SC”) issued a media release¹ announcing the appointment of LC Wakaful Digital Sdn Bhd (“LCWD”) as the first Social Exchange Platform operator in Malaysia.
 
The Social Exchange is an initiative under the new Capital Market Masterplan 2026-2030 designed to broaden access and market participation to social impact financing. The Social Exchange Platform will provide a structured and transparent avenue for non-profit organisations (“NPOs”) to raise donations for eligible social projects while enabling donors to have greater visibility over fund utilisation and the impact of the projects.
 
According to the Chairman of the SC, Dato’ Mohammad Faiz Azmi, the appointment of the Social Exchange Platform operator marks a key step towards establishing a market based, transparent and well-governed platform for NPOs.
 
LCWD which is registered under section 76A of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 will be responsible for establishing and operating Malaysia’s first Social Exchange Platform, Impakrintas, and for onboarding eligible NPOs in accordance with the requirements set out in the SC’s Guidelines on Social Exchange Platforms (“Guidelines”).
 
According to the SC’s media release, Impakrintas is expected to “go-live” on 19 February 2026 with six NPOs being onboarded onto the platform with listings of wide-ranging social impact projects, including equitable access to healthcare, early intervention programmes for youth on sexual and reproductive health education, food security, inclusive livelihoods, and environmental sustainability. The SC said that during the first year of Phase 1², it will closely assess market participation, the orderly development and viability of the platform, and the overall market readiness before considering expansion for other operators.
 
It may be recalled that the social exchange initiative was announced by the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in May 2024³. This was followed by the launch of the first Social Exchange Pilot Programme (“SEPP25”) in January 2025⁴, and the issue of the Guidelines for operators and NPOs on 19 September 2025 and the commencement of registration as a Social Exchange Platform operator on the same date.
 
According to the SC, the initial phase will involve channelling of direct cash donations from donors to the approved NPOs. The scope of the Social Exchange will be further expanded in subsequent phases for wider participation and broadened to include capital market instruments.
 
Donations made through the Social Exchange will be eligible for equivalent tax treatment under subsection 44(6) and paragraph 13(1) of Schedule 6 of the Income Tax Act 1967, benefiting both NPOs raising funds and donors supporting social impact projects listed on Impakrintas.
 
Comments
 
The SC is to be commended for the speed of implementation of the social exchange initiative as it will only be five months from the date on which the Guidelines were launched to the expected date of commencement of operations of the country’s first Social Exchange Platform.
 
The operationalisation of Malaysia’s first Social Exchange Platform is to be welcomed as it will provide a transparent avenue of fundraising for eligible NPOs.
 
Our article highlighting the salient features of the Guidelines can be accessed here.
 
 
Alert by Siti Ayenaa Binti Mohd Anis (Associate) of the ESG Practice of Skrine.
 
 

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