In conjunction with Hari Wanita 2019, approximately 280 women attended the ‘Seminar: Wanita dan Pelaburan’ at Bursa Malaysia Berhad (“Bursa Malaysia” or “the Exchange”) last Saturday, 24 August 2019, jointly organised for the first time by the Exchange and the National Council of Women’s Organisations Malaysia (“NCWO”).
Premised on the Hari Wanita 2019 theme of ‘Women are the Foundation of Family & National Harmony’, the seminar was conceptualised to support the empowerment of women in recognition of their immense contribution to nation building, by helping them to achieve stronger financial independence through investment education. The event is the first in a series of five nationwide investment seminars, with subsequent sessions to be conducted for women in Melaka, Pahang, Perlis and Sarawak this year.
YB Puan Hannah Yeoh, Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, who officiated the event, said, “According to the 2018 Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative, ‘How Stock Exchanges Can Advance Gender Equality’, women take home one- tenth of global income, while accounting for two-thirds of global working hours. In order to advance gender equality, it is essential that financial literacy among women, is enhanced – this is a crucial tool that can enhance women’s financial wellbeing and lift their potential to achieve financial equality and freedom. Access to financial management knowledge helps increase confidence in women to participate in investing and entrepreneurship, to grow wealth.”
At the seminar, participants were encouraged to hone their financial literacy skills and to increase their potential for wealth accumulation through informed investing in the capital market. The seminar also featured a talk on opportunities for women in business, which showcased fund raising in the capital market as a means for business expansion and included a sharing session by entrepreneurs who successfully listed their companies on Bursa Malaysia.
Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia said, “At Bursa Malaysia, we are committed towards connecting investors and businesses of all types to suitable opportunities that help them create and grow value. In developing a community of informed capital market participants, we continuously seek impactful collaborations with organisations sharing the same goal of promoting financial and investment education to improve the lives of Malaysians. We hope the access to learning we provide will lead to more joint initiatives with NCWO that help women fulfil their financial goals and aspirations through investing and entrepreneurship.”
Professor Emerita Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin, President of NCWO, said, “NCWO’s partnership with Bursa Malaysia opens up an entirely new vista for our affiliates, offering an alternative approach to the financial wellbeing of women that complements our existing entrepreneurial programmes. In this competitive modern world, information opens many doors. If we are among the uninformed, we stand to lose out on opportunities to improve our finances. I thank Bursa Malaysia for planning a programme that imparts knowledge and investing confidence to women in a practical way.”
Participants of ‘Seminar: Wanita dan Pelaburan’ were also encouraged to attend the structured financial and investment literacy programmes that Bursa Malaysia conducts throughout the year to help investors of varying knowledge levels in their investment journey, and advised to visit Bursamarketplace.com or download the Bursa Marketplace app to get up-to-date information on these programmes.
Supporting stockbrokers AmInvestment Bank Berhad, BIMB Securities Sdn Bhd, Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd and RHB Investment Bank Berhad provided potential investors with information on a wide range of investment products available on Bursa Malaysia. With Bursa Malaysia waiving the CDS account opening fee exclusively for the event, participants were able to open their CDS accounts for free with the stockbroker of their choice.
Event pictures
Photo 1: YB Puan Hannah Yeoh, Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development delivering the Keynote Address at the ‘Seminar: Wanita dan Pelaburan’, jointly organised by Bursa Malaysia and the National Council of Women’s Organisations Malaysia (NCWO) in conjunction with Hari Wanita 2019.
Photo 2: (From L-R) Nadira Yusoff, Deputy President, NCWO; YBhg. Prof. Emerita Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin, President, NCWO; YB Puan Hannah Yeoh, Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development; YBhg. Datuk Shireen Ann Zaharah Muhiudeen, Chairman, Bursa Malaysia; and Selvarany Rasiah, Chief Commercial Officer, Bursa Malaysia.
Photo 3: YBhg. Datuk Shireen Ann Zaharah Muhiudeen, Chairman, Bursa Malaysia (second from right) presenting a token of appreciation to YB Puan Hannah Yeoh, Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development; flanked by Selvarany Rasiah, Chief Commercial Officer, Bursa Malaysia (far right), YBhg. Prof. Emerita Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin, President, NCWO (second from left) and Nadira Yusoff, Deputy President, NCWO (far left).
