Malaysia is slated to have a comprehensive framework to regulate, implement and enforce actions/initiatives that is aimed to lead towards a low-carbon economy. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability is leading the initiative for the proposed enactment of the Climate Change Act by issuing a consultation paper to obtain comments and feedback. The introduction of a Climate Change Act is the result of Malaysia’s determination to honor its commitment under the Paris Agreement and also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Malaysia.

Bank Negara Malaysia (i.e., the Central Bank of Malaysia) (BNM) had on 1 June 2023 updated its existing Risk Management in Technology Policy Document to provide further guidance on the use of cloud services to be adopted by selected financial institutions. These changes take effect on 1 June 2023 (for licensed digital banks and licensed Islamic digital banks) and 1 June 2024 (for all other financial institutions).

On 4 August 2022, the Consumer Credit Oversight Board Task Force issued the first of a two-part consultation paper to the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) to obtain feedback from interested parties and members of the public on the proposed enactment of the CCA.
The Task Force has now issued the second public consultation paper. The public consultation period on the second paper will close on 15 May 2023.
The feedback from the consultation paper will be considered ahead of the anticipated CCA being passed into law by the end of 2023.

On 4 January 2022, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Central Bank of Malaysia, issued the Licensing Framework for Digital Insurers and Takaful Operators Discussion Paper. The DITO Discussion Paper outlines the newly proposed regulatory framework applicable to digital insurers and takaful operators. The document represents the next phase of BNM’s initiative to encourage digitalization within the financial sector, and follows the Licensing Framework for Digital Banks issued by BNM on 31 December 2020.

On 15 January 2021, the UK Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) delivered its much-anticipated judgment in The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Limited and Others [2021] UKSC 1 in respect of a representative sample of business interruption property insurance (“Business Interruption”) policies. 

In light of the decision by the Supreme Court to construe the relevant clauses broadly, we anticipate that there will be an increase in claims by policyholders for losses resulting from business interruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic. 

Malaysian insurers are encouraged to revisit their existing Business Interruption policies, to consider how the existing policy wordings may be impacted by the judgment, and if needed, consider revising and refining their policies.

On 31 December 2020, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) issued its Licensing Framework for Digital Banks (“Licensing Framework”) and indicated that it may issue up to five digital bank licences.

In this recording of our introductory workshop, Baker McKenzie FinTech Legal Accelerator: Cracking the Legal Code, held as part of the Hong Kong FinTech Week 2020, our lawyers across Asia Pacific give an overview of key fintech issues that start-ups or scale-ups need to know as they grow and expand…

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a profound impact on businesses, companies have started to focus on navigating the medium- to long-term implications of this crisis. While disruption may pose challenges, we have also seen how various sectors are embracing and accelerating digital transformation as a way to achieve…

Due to the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and with the implementation of the Restriction of Movement Order (Order) on 18 March 2020, Malaysian financial institutions will need to adapt their ‘business as usual’ practices. It is imperative for financial institutions to take appropriate measures and actions to…