Online trading in Malaysia is growing increasingly popular in Malaysia as the country’s digital landscape growth is at full-throttle thanks to the increased mobile connectivity and public sector initiatives, including free internet access amid the partial lockdown to curb the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The country would have more than 27 million internet users by the end of this year, or about 86 percent of its population, and is likely to increase to 29.4 million users by 2023, according to Global statistics portal Statista.
A separate study, titled ASEAN Up 2019, reported that about 75 percent of Malaysians made an online purchase and relied on digital payment to pay off their purchases.
It was noted that out of those that shopped online, 44 percent were most active on desktop devices while 58 percent browsed via their mobile phones.
Many of them also relied on digital payment to pay off their purchases.
Malaysians, however, are not only spending money on the internet. People are starting to embrace online trading as a side hustle, especially with many beginner-friendly platforms available on the market.
This includes MetaTrader 4 (MT4) which has opened up the financial markets to millions of users.
Prospective traders can immediately connect to the IG brokerage service and browse more than 170,000 financial markets for forex, commodities, and shares trading.
Novices can hone their trading skills with guides, blog posts, virtual seminars with experts, and statistical updates. The platform is available for download on Mac and PC browsers.
Other studies suggested that online trading activity in Malaysia will grow in the coming years as people are becoming more financially literate and aware of the global market trends.
In 2019, data company YouGov conducted a survey that revealed 32 percent of Malaysians said that they were optimistic about the global financial market.
Although 48 percent of traders still make investments through their bank, the remaining 47 percent choose online trading sites as their go-to option, according to the YouGov study.
Modern Trader report also showed that the number of online forex traders in 2018 was 9.6 million in which 3.2 million were based in Asia.
Combined with other trading options, the number of active online traders can surpass 10 million people.
The potential growth in trading activity is also supported by Statista’s positive forecast on the Malaysian internet population which can soar to 29.4 million users by 2023.
Pushing e-commerce
The government is targeting sales of at least RM513 million in this year’s Buy Malaysia Campaign that will take place from July until the end of the year.
The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister stated that last year’s campaign from September to December saw sales of RM430 million for both Malaysian products and services.
The figures only cover major retailers and online marketplaces and do not include smaller retailers, for example.
“To revitalise and re-energise the economy, we have to focus on local enterprises. Their products will be given priority. If we can help our local enterprises, there will be no loss of employment,” the minister stated said during the launch of the Buy Malaysia Campaign on online shopping platform.
It was important to strengthen public-private partnerships to accelerate the digitisation of Malaysian businesses, especially for small and medium enterprises to ensure the domestic economy did not get left behind in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Both sectors played a role in addressing the challenging economic climate by reinforcing the government’s strategies and offering practical solutions that would benefit Malaysian businesses and consumers alike.
