# Securities Commission Malaysia: The Capital Markets Regulator

> The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is the single statutory body that regulates and develops Malaysia's capital market — from Bursa-listed issuers to fund managers and licensed intermediaries.

- Category: economy
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-08-08
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/economy/securities-commission-malaysia

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Every time a Malaysian company lists on Bursa, a unit trust is marketed, or a broker takes your buy order, one regulator stands behind the transaction: the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC).

The SC is the single statutory authority that both **regulates** and **develops** Malaysia's capital market. It is not a government department but a self-funded statutory body, established on 1 March 1993 under the Securities Commission Act 1993 (SCA). It reports to the Minister of Finance, and its accounts are tabled in Parliament every year.

## What is the SC responsible for?

Its mission, in its own words, is "to promote and maintain fair, efficient, secure and transparent securities and derivatives markets; and facilitate the orderly development of an innovative and competitive capital market."

In practice that splits into a handful of jobs: making rules for the capital market, supervising market institutions such as exchanges and clearing houses, licensing the firms and people who deal in securities, protecting investors, promoting corporate governance, and enforcing the law when someone breaches it.

## Fast facts

| Field | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Securities Commission Malaysia (Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia) |
| Established | 1 March 1993 |
| Founding law | Securities Commission Act 1993 |
| Status | Self-funded statutory body |
| Reports to | Minister of Finance (accounts tabled in Parliament) |
| Executive Chairman | Dato' Mohammad Faiz Azmi (term 16 June 2024 to 15 June 2027) |
| Managing Director | Datin Paduka Azalina Adham |
| Executive Director, Enforcement | Datuk Manoj Kurup |
| Website | sc.com.my |

## Which laws does the SC administer?

The SC administers three principal pieces of legislation:

- **Securities Commission Act 1993** — its founding statute, which creates the SC and sets out its powers.
- **Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (Act 671)** — the operating law for the capital market. It came into operation on 28 September 2007 and repealed the earlier Securities Industry Act 1983 and Futures Industry Act 1993, consolidating them into a single framework covering capital market activities, markets and intermediaries.
- **Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991** — administered by the SC to regulate the central depository system through which securities are deposited, held, withdrawn and dealt with in scripless form.

## How does licensing work?

A capital market intermediary needs only **one licence** to carry on business in one or more regulated activities. Those regulated activities, defined under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, are:

| Regulated activity | Typical holder |
| --- | --- |
| Dealing in securities | Stockbrokers |
| Dealing in derivatives | Futures brokers |
| Clearing for securities or derivatives | Clearing houses |
| Fund management | Asset and portfolio managers |
| Dealing in Private Retirement Scheme | PRS distributors |
| Advising on corporate finance | Corporate advisers, investment banks |
| Investment advice | Research and advisory firms |
| Financial planning | Licensed financial planners |

The SC vets, licenses and supervises these firms and their representatives, and can suspend or revoke a licence for misconduct. It also registers and oversees market operators, recognised market operators (such as equity crowdfunding and P2P financing platforms), and digital asset exchanges.

## Where does the SC stop and Bank Negara begin?

Malaysia runs a **twin-peaks-style** split between two regulators, and the boundary matters:

- The **Securities Commission** regulates the *capital market* — shares, corporate bonds and sukuk, derivatives, unit trusts, fund management, corporate-finance activity, and everything traded on or listed through **Bursa Malaysia**.
- **Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)**, the central bank, regulates *banking, insurance and takaful, monetary policy, and the money and foreign-exchange markets*.

So a bank is supervised by BNM, but when that same bank's investment-banking arm advises on a listing or manages a fund, that activity falls under the SC. Both regulators coordinate closely, but their statutory remits are distinct.

## Who leads the SC?

The SC is headed by an Executive Chairman. Dato' Mohammad Faiz Azmi was appointed Executive Chairman for a term running from 16 June 2024 to 15 June 2027, succeeding Datuk Seri Dr Awang Adek Hussin. The senior leadership also includes a Managing Director (Datin Paduka Azalina Adham) and executive directors for functions such as Islamic capital market, corporate finance and investments, enforcement, and digital strategy.

## What's next

If you deal with Malaysian securities in any capacity, the SC's own site is the authoritative reference: check the licensing register before engaging any broker or adviser, and consult the Investor Alert List to screen out unauthorised platforms. For the legal detail, the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 and its subsidiary guidelines set out the specific obligations that apply to each regulated activity.

## Sources

- About the SC — https://www.sc.com.my/about/about-the-sc (Securities Commission Malaysia)
- Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 — https://www.sc.com.my/regulation/acts/capital-markets-and-services-act-2007 (Securities Commission Malaysia)
- Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (Act 671) — full text — https://www.sc.com.my/api/documentms/download.ashx?id=70b43137-9a48-4540-b955-f1114ceb3445 (Securities Commission Malaysia)
- Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991 — https://www.sc.com.my/regulation/acts/securities-industry-central-depositories-act-1991 (Securities Commission Malaysia)
- Regulation — Licensing — https://www.sc.com.my/regulation/licensing (Securities Commission Malaysia)
- Senior Management — https://www.sc.com.my/about/senior-management (Securities Commission Malaysia)
- SC Appoints Mohammad Faiz Azmi As New Executive Chairman Effective June 16 — https://www.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=2307627 (Bernama)

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