Enhancing the Talent Pipeline in the Capital Market - Strengthening the Sustainability and Competitiveness of the Capital Market

Enhancing the Talent Pipeline in the Capital Market

Recognising the importance of human capital growth in the capital market, the SC continues to enhance the talent pipeline in the capital market. Besides the capacitybuilding initiatives in ICM such as the Islamic Capital Market Talent Development (ICMTD) Programme and the Shariah Mentorship Programme, the SC has embarked on the 3-year Capital Market Graduate Programme known as investED, which is in tandem with the national agenda and supported by the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Higher Education.

ICM Talent Development Programme
The ICMTD programme is a capacity-building initiative developed by the SC and run by the Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC). The ICMTD programme is specially designed to facilitate the development and upskilling of graduates seeking a career in the ICM. ICMTD also offers an internship programme to selected participants, geared towards channeling fresh talent for the future development needs of the ICM. Since its inception in 2009, the programme has produced a total of 26 cohorts with 1,042 graduates.

After nearly 14 years, the ICMTD programme concludes with the last cohort in 2023, as the SC shifts from a wide-based approach to a more focused approach for talent and capacity building within the ICM.
Shariah Mentorship Programme
The Shariah Mentorship Programme (SMP) was introduced in 2023 as one of the SC’s targeted strategies in capacity building to meet the specific needs of the ICM industry.

At its core, SMP is designed to create a continuous talent pipeline of Shariah advisers equipped with adequate technical competencies and knowledge of ICM products and offerings and appropriate regulatory expertise. The framework and structure of SMP are designed to equip the participants with the necessary skills and resources suited for Shariah advisory roles, ensuring continued growth and relevance of Islamic finance principles on a global scale. SMP is open to fresh graduates with Shariah background, or Shariah officers with less than two and half years of experience in Islamic finance or ICM. The programme spans eight months and will include comprehensive classes to establish strong foundational knowledge and skills, followed by an internship with industry partners for practical experience in ICM.

The first cohort for SMP commenced in October 2023 where 15 participants were chosen out of 273 applicants.

SPECIAL FEATURE 3

investED
(formerly known as the
Capital Market Graduate Programme)

Mitigating Systemic Risks And Promoting Financial Stability

Enhanced Risk Governance Framework

In 2021, the SC-wide risk governance framework was enhanced as part of an overall initiative to have an effective integrated and predictive risk surveillance to maintain regulatory agility.

The structured risk governance framework integrated the wider spectrum of risks such as technology, cyber and conduct risk at the SC’s Systemic Risk Oversight Committee (SROC) and Accounting, Market and Corporate Surveillance Committee (ACMS).

Intensified surveillance

The SC continued to intensify its surveillance of systemic risk to maintain market resilience and stability. Regular SROC engagements were held to deliberate concerns emanating from various segments across the capital market. Domestic equity and bond market, foreign fund flows and trade participation continued to be monitored closely for potential stress points.

In addition, measures and economic stimulus packages introduced by the government to weather the impact of COVID-19, market trading conduct and the financial position of listed companies were among the focus areas for discussion.

Thematic assessments

The SC also conducted thematic assessments covering investors’ fund flows, the position of firms, and policy decisions to ascertain the possible impact on the capital market. In 2021, the SC reviewed and enhanced its crisis indicators on potential emerging risks in the
capital market.

The enhanced crisis indicators provided a reference point for escalation to SROC when the identified indicators and triggers materialised and ensured prompt response to manage and prevent any issues of concern that might lead to a systemic crisis.

Joint regulatory discussions

In 2021, the SC conducted frequent joint regulatory discussions with other authorities such as Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA) to identify systemic risk concern areas within the financial and capital markets in Malaysia.

Monitoring of various components of the capital market

The SC continued its efforts to undertake a methodological and integrated approach to ensure any potential systemic risk was being monitored, mitigated, or managed. Figure 1 highlights the findings from the following risk assessments on the various components of the capital market.