Securities Commission Malaysia launches the Capital Market Masterplan 2026-2030

27 March 2026

The launch of Malaysia’s Capital Market Masterplan 2026-2030¹ (“CMP”) on 9 March 2026 marks the next phase of Malaysia’s strategy to position itself as a regional leader in responsible investment, where Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) principles, Shariah-compliant instruments and socially responsible investing are treated as core investment propositions rather than peripheral considerations, as highlighted by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim².

Against this backdrop, Malaysia’s capital market is projected to grow to RM5.8 trillion by 2030 through organic growth and the implementation of CMP initiatives, with further potential expansion to RM6.3 trillion supported by structural reforms, targeted tax and investment incentives, and continued capital account liberalisation.

Outcome Themes

The CMP is anchored on four strategic outcome themes designed to reshape and recalibrate Malaysia’s capital market:

Vibrant capital market driving long-term economic prosperity.
An inclusive capital market for all Malaysians.
Capital market supporting national sustainability goals.
Capital market as gateway to regional opportunities.

Strategic Framework

Vibrant Capital Market Driving Long-Term Economic Prosperity

To enhance capital market vibrancy, the CMP identifies four key implementation priorities aimed at addressing structural gaps in Malaysia’s capital market ecosystem.

Implementation Priorities	Focus	Key Action Items
Optimising Equity Market Valuation and Value Proposition of Bonds and Sukuk	Address muted market valuation and strengthen corporate stewardship and governance standards among Malaysian listed companies. Broaden participation in the bond and sukuk market by supporting high-potential issuers in navigating issuance requirements and strengthening collaboration among issuers, intermediaries, trustees and investors.	Launch tailored programmes to improve public listed companies’ performance, transparency, liquidity and governance. Introduce early-intervention measures for underperforming public listed companies. Strengthen board and senior management accountability through the upcoming revisions to the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance. Establish facilitation programmes to support bond and sukuk issuance by high-potential issuers. Enhance investor protection by strengthening the role of trustees.
Accelerating Growth of Venture Capital (“VC”) and Private Equity (“PE”)	Accelerate the growth of the VC and PE ecosystem to increase capital flows to innovative start-ups and high value-add sectors such as data infrastructure, electrical and electronics, while addressing exit pathways, fund structures and capital control constraints.	Support the growth of the VC and PE ecosystem through clearer regulatory guidance, improved exit pathways and ecosystem collaboration. Review of suitable fund vehicles, including legal structures, tax policies and incentives.
Facilitating Development of Private Credit Ecosystem	Develop a private credit industry to expand non-bank financing options and enable companies to access alternative sources of capital through direct lending and private debt instruments.	Develop a regulatory framework for private credit and direct lending, including Shariah-compliant financing vehicles. Enable and facilitate the orderly development of the private credit ecosystem. Review tax and foreign exchange policies to enable more flexible and competitive fund structures.
Regulatory Frameworks for Alternative Assets	Develop regulatory frameworks for alternative assets to support growing investor interest and provide clarity for market players while managing emerging risks.	Expand regulatory frameworks to cover emerging asset classes including digital assets, carbon credits and real-world assets. Facilitate the onboarding of new market participants within the alternative asset ecosystem. Enhance supervision and surveillance of new asset classes through data-driven and technology-enabled monitoring.

Inclusive Capital Market for All Malaysians

The CMP identifies four key implementation priorities aimed at democratising access to the Malaysian capital market and improving access to financing for businesses.

Implementation Priorities	Focus	Key Action Items
Financial Literacy and Access to Data	Improve financial literacy and expand access to financial information, digital tools and advisory support to enable Malaysians to make well-informed investment decisions.	Broaden access to capital market products and services through targeted digital literacy and awareness programmes. Facilitate the development of a safe and responsible AI-enabled digital capital market ecosystem. Establish a platform providing Malaysians with a holistic view of their finances supported by AI-based advisory tools.
Access to Innovative Products and Services	Improve access to a wider range of innovative capital market products and new asset classes, while enhancing affordability and reducing investment friction costs.	Encourage innovation in investment products, trading instruments and structures to enhance affordability and accessibility for retail investors. Improve access to fair and efficient dispute resolution channels for investors.
Building Financial Security for Retirement	Address insufficient retirement savings by promoting early retirement planning and expanding retirement-focused investment solutions to support active management of wealth.	Develop an account-like retirement structure offering greater product diversification. Encourage early participation in retirement savings through simplified enrolment and workplace initiatives. Enhance the attractiveness of retirement savings products through improved investor experience and transparency.
Strengthening Fundraising for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (“MSME”) and Mid-Tier Companies (“MTC”)	Strengthen market-based financing for MSME and MTC by developing a seamless end-to-end fundraising ecosystem and expanding access to capital market financing.	Establish an efficient MSME and MTC funding escalator to meet businesses’ evolving needs. Promote innovative financing products and structures. Enhance MSME and MTC data analytics and capacity building, including support for Bumiputera companies.

Capital Market Supporting National Sustainability Goals

The CMP also outlines two implementation priorities to strengthen the role of the capital market in supporting Malaysia’s sustainability agenda and mobilising financing for climate transition, mitigation, adaptation, resilience and social progress initiatives.

Implementation Priorities	Focus	Key Action Items
Mobilising Capital for Sustainability-Related Projects	Mobilise private capital alongside government funding to finance sustainability-related projects supporting climate transition, mitigation, adaptation, resilience and social commitments.	Facilitate sustainable financing including through blended finance instruments to de-risk climate and social projects. Coordinate concessional and alternative capital pools such as Islamic social finance, philanthropy to crowd-in private investment. Leverage regulated platforms such as Social Exchange to expand access to social impact financing.
Building a Robust Sustainable Finance Ecosystem	Accelerate the development of a sustainable finance ecosystem supported by clear taxonomies, robust measurement standards and transparent sustainability disclosures, while improving sustainability data quality, strengthening assurance mechanisms and standards, and building local capability and expertise across the sustainable finance value chain.	Promote adoption of the national sustainability taxonomy aligned with the ASEAN Taxonomy and Mitigation and Adaptation for Resilience Guide. Support the development of Malaysia’s carbon market ecosystem. Formulate impact-investment guidance, beginning with social impact indicators. Develop an ecosystem of capable market participants, including impact-investment managers, ESG-rating agencies and verification bodies and an association of sustainability professionals.

Capital Market as Gateway to Regional Opportunities

Lastly, the fourth outcome theme focuses on positioning Malaysia’s capital market as a regional gateway to capture opportunities arising from the rapid growth of ASEAN and increasing intra-regional trade and investment flows.

Implementation Priorities	Focus	Key Action Items
Funding Expansion of Homegrown Regional Champions	Facilitate fundraising and access to capital market financing for Malaysian companies including regional ventures, acquisitions and strategic projects in sectors such as halal, ethical and sustainable industries.	Increase the number of Malaysian ASEAN Business Entities (MyABE) to support regional expansion. Facilitate fundraising for Malaysian companies expanding regionally, particularly in halal, ethical and sustainable sectors.
Positioning Malaysia as a Regional Fundraising and Investment Destination	Strengthen Malaysia’s position as an attractive fundraising hub and investment destination by enhancing the IPO pipeline, improving fundraising efficiency and attracting foreign governments and entities.	Facilitate cross-border capital flows for companies and strategic projects to position Malaysia as a regional fundraising hub. Establish Malaysia as a preferred investment destination for institutional investors and family offices through enhanced investor engagement, market visibility and liquidity.
Establishing a Niche in Innovative and High-Impact Products	Develop regionally focused, innovative and value-based products by leveraging Malaysia’s Islamic finance leadership, ethical and sustainable finance.	Develop regionally themed investment products such as ASEAN infrastructure bonds and sukuk, halal economy funds, thematic ETFs and listed VC/PE funds.

In addition to the four outcome themes, the CMP also highlights two key enablers underpinning the future development of Malaysia’s capital market:

Islamic Capital Market Leadership
Malaysia remains a global leader in Islamic finance, with its Islamic capital market (“ICM”) growing to RM2.7 trillion in size by end-2025 and the country ranked first in the ICD-LSEG Islamic Finance Development Indicator for thirteen consecutive years. Building on this position, the CMP aims to strengthen ICM by anchoring it on Maqasid al-Shariah (objectives of Shariah) and Halal-Toyyib, which emphasise superior value creation and tangible social benefits. Implementation priorities include strengthening ICM thought leadership, enhancing the competitiveness of Islamic assets, expanding Islamic social finance initiatives and anchoring Maqasid al-Shariah principles within Shariah governance frameworks.

This will include strengthening Maqasid al-Shariah-based ethical investment principles, expanding Shariah-compliant products across traditional and emerging asset classes, supporting product innovation through the ICM Innovation Lab, supporting the development of Islamic social finance products and frameworks such as waqf-linked and zakat-based frameworks, and strengthening Shariah governance and leadership development.

Critical Foundation: Regulatory and Governance Excellence
The CMP also emphasises regulatory and governance excellence as a critical foundation for a resilient and modern capital market. In this regard, the Securities Commission Malaysia (“SC”) identified three implementation priorities, namely facilitative regulatory frameworks and governance, strengthening capital market ecosystem development to enhance future readiness, and data-driven supervision to ensure that regulations remain responsive to evolving capital market activities and technological developments.

To support these implementation priorities, the SC will undertake reviews of capital market laws and guidelines in line with the Government Service Efficiency Commitment Act 2025³, review the development of the regulatory ecosystem, drive alignment towards a potential twin-peaks regulatory model, establish robust data architecture across the capital market and enable RegTech and SupTech solutions to strengthen supervisory oversight and anticipate risks.

Conclusion

The CMP represents an important step in shaping a resilient, inclusive and future-ready Malaysian capital market. Through its key action plans, the CMP seeks to enhance market vibrancy and inclusivity, mobilise capital to support sustainability and regional opportunities, and reinforce Malaysia’s leadership in the Islamic capital market, supported by strong regulatory and governance frameworks.

While the initiatives outlined signal a proactive effort by the SC to modernise the regulatory ecosystem and facilitate market development, the success of the CMP will heavily depend on sustained collaboration among regulators, industry participants and other stakeholders who have been identified in the CMP as the key collaborators of the key actions comprised in each of the strategic outcome themes. Ultimately, the real test will lie in whether these proposed reforms translate into meaningful improvements in market efficiency, innovation and capital formation in practice.

Article by Tan Wei Xian (Partner) and Belinda Lim Ke Xin (Associate) of the Corporate Practice of Skrine.

¹ The Capital Markets Masterplan 2026-2030 is the fourth masterplan launched by the Securities Commission Malaysia, with the previous masterplans being launched in 2001, 2011 and 2021.

² See Forward by Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim at page 8 of the Capital Markets Masterplan 2026-2030.

³ Our article on the Government Service Efficiency Commitment Act 2025 can be accessed here.

This article/alert contains general information only. It does not constitute legal advice nor an expression of legal opinion and should not be relied upon as such. For further information, kindly contact skrine@skrine.com.

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Securities Commission Malaysia launches the Capital Market Masterplan 2026-2030