Several industry leaders attended the launch of the CPE programme including the executive chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE), Dato' Mohd Azlan Hashim.

The implementation of the CPE programme will start with dealer's representatives and eventually cover all other categories of licensees namely, fund manager's representatives, investment adviser's representatives, future broker's representatives, futures fund managers and futures trading investment representatives.

Encik Ali said the CPE programme is aimed at enhancing the professional competence of all licensed representatives. In the long run, the programme is expected to create a culture of continuous education and improvement among licensed representatives in the capital market.

"It is crucial that licensed representatives remain professionally competent by continually upgrading their skills and knowledge. They must have the knowledge and understanding of the ever increasing range of products they deal in or advise upon, the markets in which they provide these services, and the regulatory environment within which they operate," said Encik Ali.

The CPE programme will be enforced through the SC's licensing mechanism. This means that licensed representatives must collect the requisite 20 CPE points a year, accumulated from attending CPE-approved courses in order to have their licenses renewed. Licensed intermediaries will gain five CPE points for half-day courses and 10 CPE points for courses extending beyond half a day.

Dealer's representatives will have to begin complying with the CPE programme requirement from 1 July 2002. As a general rule, the CPE-points cannot be carried forward from one year to another. However, the SC is granting an initial grace period for compliance during this first phase of implementation. This means that dealer's representatives can collect CPE-points now and keep them for the purpose of one licence renewal after 1 July 2002.

The first batch of 228 CPE-approved courses will commence in February 2001. They will be conducted by 22 CPE training providers, which include the Securities Industry Development Centre (SIDC), exchanges (Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange and the Malaysian Exchange of Securities Dealing and Automated Quotation), stockbroking firms, industry/professional bodies, institutions of higher learning and private training providers.

The CPE information brochure and booklet, in both Bahasa Malaysia and English, and the CPE Training Calendar are available at the SIDC Corporate Services and stockbroking companies. Similar information on the CPE programme is also available on the SC web-site at www.sc.com.my/cpe and the websites of the exchanges.

Upon completion of the each CPE-approved course, licensed representatives will be given a CPE attendance docket by the CPE training provider as proof of attendance. Having collected the required 20 CPE points for licence renewal, they then need to obtain a written attestation letter from their respective stockbroking companies supporting their application for licence renewal. These together with the CPE attendance dockets and the licence application forms are to be submitted to the Licensing Department of the SC for processing.

The SC emphasised that only CPE-approved courses offered by the CPE training providers will be recognised by the SC for the purpose of licence renewal. The SC will ensure that all CPE-approved courses meet the skills and competency requirements of the licensed representatives. The same recognition is also given to CPE-approved Bumiputera Training Fund (BTF) programmes for the purpose of collecting CPE points for the annual renewal requirements. However, accumulation of CPE points through this option is limited to only one CPE-approved course of the BTF programme per year.

The SC said that the CPE Programme is a result of extensive industry consultation. A CPE Working Committee comprising representatives from the exchanges (KLSE, MESDAQ) and the SIDC and the Licensing Department of the SC was formed to undertake the tasks of vetting and approving all CPE courses and CPE training providers, determining appropriate CPE points for the approved course and ensuring quality control.

On policy matters, a CPE Advisory group comprising senior management from the SC, exchanges and the industry was established to oversee and advise on the implementation of the CPE programme besides promoting and fostering its acceptance by industry participants.