Forex Brokers in Malaysia

Although forex trading continues to be a very popular form of trading in Malaysia, it has come under close regulator scrutiny in recent years. Whist international forex brokers can still accept clients located in Malaysia, it can be beneficial for residents to look for trading brokers who also hold a Capital Markets Services License (CMSL) from the Securities Commission of Malaysia, or SCM, the country’s financial regulatory body. This regulation can help unsuspecting traders and investors from falling victim to forex broker scams. That being said, there are many good forex brokers in Malaysia that are regulated in other jurisdictions which can be considered.

Best forex brokers Malaysia

To find the best forex brokers in Malaysia, we created a list of all forex brokers that state they can accept traders and investors from Malaysia, then ranked them according to their overall rating. You can see a list of our top forex brokers in Malaysia below.

Broker
Rating
Regulated
Min. Deposit
Founded
Max. Leverage
1.

ADGM FRSA, ASIC, BVIFSC, CBI, FFAJ, FSCA, IIROC, JFSA

$100

2006

1:400

Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
2.

ASIC, BaFin, CFTC, DFSA, FCA, FINMA, FMA, FSA, FSCA, JFSA, MAFF, MAS, METI, NFA

$250

1974

1:200

70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
3.

ASIC, CySEC, FSA, SCB

$200

2007

1:500

Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
4.

CySEC, DFSA, FCA, FSCA, IFSC

$1

2004

1:500

Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
5.

ASIC, CIMA, CFTC, FCA, FSA, IIROC, JFSA, NFA, SFC

$100

2001

1:50

Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Malaysian forex brokers

SCM forex brokers

The Securities Commission Malaysia is a Malaysian statutory body with responsibility for development and regulation of capital markets in the country. It is located in Bukit Kiara near the National Science Centre of Kuala Lumpur.

The SCM was established on 1 March 1993 under the Securities Commission Act 1993, is a self-funding statutory body with investigative and enforcement powers. It reports to the Minister of Finance and its accounts are tabled in Parliament annually.

It has the power to investigate and enforce the areas within its jurisdiction. The SCM is a self-funding organisation where its income is derived from the collection of levies and application fees.

The SCM mission 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”.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Central Bank of Malaysia which regulates money service businesses and forex dealers, has issued guidelines for cryptocurrencies with which companies must comply when dealing with crypto assets.

LOFSA forex brokers

The Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA), formerly known as Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority (LOFSA), is a one-stop agency which was established on 15 February 1996 as a single regulatory body to promote and develop Labuan as an International Business & Financial Centre (IBFC). Its establishment further draws the attention of the government’s commitment to make Labuan a premier IBFC of high repute.

Labuan FSA is formed to focus on business development and promotion, process application and supervise business and financial activities, develop national objectives, policies and set priorities, administer and enforce legislation, and incorporate/register Labuan offshore companies.

How to verify regulated brokers in Malaysia

Malaysia’s National Fatwa Council has ruled that foreign exchange trading is forbidden or ‘haram’ for Muslims as it was against the Islamic Sharia law. “A study by the committee found that such trading involves currency speculation, which contradicts Islamic law. However, some forex brokers provide Islamic swap-free accounts that are Sharia compliant.

Under the Exchange Control Act 1953 (ECA), it is an offence for a person in Malaysia to buy or sell foreign currency or do any act which involves, is in association with, or is preparatory to, buying or selling of foreign currency with any person, other than an authorised dealer.

To check if a forex broker is regulated by SCM, you will first need to identify the registration number which is usually located at the bottom of the broker’s homepage. Once you have the register number, you can look it up the on the SCM website to validate the current regulatory status of the broker in Malaysia.

Is forex trading legal in Malaysia?

One of Southeast Asia’s economic hubs is Malaysia. Similar to many western nations, Malaysia’s capital market is expanding quickly, which encourages a large number of locals to look for business opportunities in the stock, futures, currency, and other markets. Since the majority of Malaysians practice Islam, they are cautious while trading in derivatives like forex and CFD.

In the past, Malaysia considered forex to be illegal and severely penalized some traders who dealt in big sums of money. The Malaysian government has steadily loosened some restrictions on forex trading, or you might say that the business climate is generally tolerant, as a result of the swift development of the world economy and commerce in recent years.


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