28/04/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | APR 28, 2025

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Malaysian Paper

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TCGF – the way forward for large businesses T HE Inland Revenue Board (IRB) has opened its doors to large taxpayers and offer them an opportunity to cooperate with them to man accordance with the tax principles, and while doing this, tax risks must be identified and managed in accordance with the company’s tax philosophy without infringing the tax laws.

CLSA makes debut in Malaysian structured warrants market PETALING JAYA: Foreign broker CLSA Securities Malaysia Sdn Bhd has officially launched its structured warrant offerings, marking a new chapter in the country’s trading landscape. As the second international issuer of structured warrants in Malaysia, CLSA has entered the market at a time when retail investor participation is thriving, following the FBM KLCI’s best annual performance in 14 years in 2024 outperforming many of its regional peers. “While structured warrants may look similar on the surface, we believe it is the quality of execution that truly sets an issuer apart,” said Kit Lim, CLSA country head of Malaysia. Backed by the global expertise and award winning market-making technology from its parent company, CITIC Securities, CLSA is looking to marry its regional presence with local expertise to bring bespoke, competitive and tailored dynamic structured warrants to local market participants. To mark its entry, CLSA will make its debut with six structured warrants encompassing some of Malaysia’s most actively traded companies, including MyEG Services Bhd and Gamuda Bhd. “These are names familiar to every Malaysian investor and this is just the beginning. We look forward to expanding our coverage, deepening engagement with investors, and building a trading experience that matches the ambition of Malaysia’s growing retail market,” Lim said. CLSA said in a statement that its approach in Malaysia is designed to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving investor landscape, from traditional long term investors to the new wave of digitally native Gen Z traders. While the younger generation appears to be attracted to faster-paced, more leveraged products like cryptocurrencies and forex trading, CLSA believes that structured warrants may represent an attractive alternative for this demographic of Malaysians. CTOS Digital Q1 revenue rises to RM76 million PETALING JAYA: CTOS Digital Bhd reported a revenue increase of 6.3% to RM76.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 (Q1’25) compared to the corresponding quarter of the preceding year, driven by stronger contributions from the direct-to-consumer and key account segments. The group’s international business also maintained positive momentum, supported by healthy client onboarding. Share of profits from associates increased by 54% to RM2.8 million backed by strong performance by Juris Technologies Sdn Bhd (JurisTech). Profit after tax and minority interest stood at RM14.4 million for the quarter. The company declared a first interim single tier dividend of 0.44 sen per ordinary share in respect of Q1’25, which will be paid on July 23. This translates to a payout ratio of 70% for the quarter. The entitlement date is June 25. CTOS Digital group CEO Erick Hamburger commented: “We continue to see uptick in revenue as growth opportunities remain abundant both domestically and regionally. Financial institutions are increasingly seeking more sophisticated data and tools for credit analysis, underpinning sustained demand for the group’s offerings. Innovation remains central to our strategy, and several product enhancements and new solutions are scheduled for launch in 2025, further reinforcing our commitment to continuous improvement and value creation.” In parallel, he added, they have embarked on a series of cost optimisation initiatives to enhance operational efficiency and reallocating resources more effectively.

and a clear commitment by the organisation to institute a TCF, the IRB should accept such organisations into the programme and allow them a grace period of six to 12 months to institute a TCF to increase the level of participation by the large companies. The RM100 million threshold is reasonable for manufacturing companies where the material element is large, and achieving the RM100 million threshold is much easier when compared to companies in the services sector which principally relies on manpower. If the IRB wants to increase the participation of the service companies, then the threshold of RM100 million should be reduced to a smaller amount. that implementing the TCGF programme will entail anywhere from nine to 15 months. Once you have been accepted into TCGF, you will be subject to less scrutiny on your tax returns for the next three years together with a dedicated officer from the IRB being assigned to each participant. The underlying intention here is to avoid audits and investigations for such taxpayers. However, if there are significant fluctuations or variations that need an explanation, there will be a dialogue initiated by the IRB or by the taxpayer to understand such fluctuations. This article is contributed by Thannees Tax Consulting Services Sdn Bhd managing director SM Thanneermalai (www.thannees.com). Implementation timeline Taxpayers should be advised

age their tax affairs with the ultimate intention of providing certainty to the taxpayers grounded on build ing trust and transparency between both parties. This programme is called the Tax Corporate Governance

If there is a conflict between the tax philosophy of the organisation on a particular transaction versus the IRB’s current position, the TCGF allows the taxpayer to engage with the IRB prior to the transaction being undertaken, or prior to the filing of the tax return. This avenue provides near certainty on where the taxpayer stands in relation to any controversial tax issues. This was not available in the past, and it is a “golden opportunity” for taxpayers to avoid future surprises. Eligibility for participation There are three conditions to be met: large companies, public listed companies, government linked companies and state owned enterprise earning RM100 million and above; taxpayers who have been filing their tax returns and paying their taxes diligently for the past three years; and taxpayers with established tax control framework (TCF). All three conditions must be fulfilled. Investment holding companies and dormant companies are not eligible. The reality on the ground level is that most companies do not have comprehensive TCF in place. To encourage organisations to participate in the TCGF, the IRB must not impose the availability of a TCF as a precondition for entering the programme. If there is a willingness

Framework (TCGF). This is a two way process where there will be open lines of communication between the two parties to minimise potential disagreements. Internationally, many countries have initiated this programme, and the underlying principle is “cooperative compliance”. The purpose is to encourage taxpayers to improve the level and quality of compliance such that the tax authorities have a sustainable recurring revenue source with minimal deployment of resources. Ultimate aim The principal goal here is to ensure that taxpayers report the correct taxes in their tax returns, and the taxes are paid on time. To achieve this, the IRB needs to be satisfied that there is a system of controls in place in the taxpayer organisations which will produce the required results reliably. This must start with data collection points such as sales, purchases, orders, etc, and thereafter the data must be recorded accurately and must be complete. The data must be processed and analysed in

Luno Malaysia adds Algorand and NEAR Protocol to digital asset offerings

PETALING JAYA: Luno Malaysia has expanded its list of digital assets with the launch of two new coins – Algorand and NEAR Protocol. The launch is also the first batch of digital assets approved by the Securities Commission Malaysia this year for both Luno and the country. The two new coins bring Luno’s digital assets offerings in Malaysia to 20. The widened offering enables investors to explore more of the crypto ecosystem and diversify their portfolios safely and securely. Algorand is an eco-friendly blockchain enabling fast, low cost transactions and scalable, secure decentralised applications (dApps), aiming for a sustainable, borderless digital economy while NEAR Protocol is a fast, scalable blockchain with low-cost trans actions, high throughput, and user-friendly tools for dApp development, focused on de centralisation and sustainability. Luno country manager for Malaysia, Scarlett Chai, said, “In 2024, Luno led the approval of seven digital assets with the Securities Commission Malaysia. We aim to double that this year, starting with these two digital

assets. The team is actively engaging the regulator to launch new digital assets expeditiously.” She said the addition of two new digital assets expands the platform’s total assets to 20, while the recent milestone of surpassing one million cus tomers reinforces Luno’s position as Malaysia’s leading regulated digital asset exchange. In addition to the launch of ALGO and NEAR, Luno is broadening its Staking feature to include NEAR in the coming weeks. NEAR Staking would allow customers to earn up to 7% per annum in passive rewards, which are earned daily. “Our recent staking launch of Polkadot and the upcoming NEAR Protocol rearm Luno’s com mitment to growing Malaysia’s digital asset landscape by not only making digital asset invest ments a safe and accessible option, but also being innovative by enabling our customers to grow their holdings,” said Chai. Today, Luno is the country’s only regulated digital asset exchange, providing customers with staking services for Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Polkadot and, soon, NEAR Protocol.

The launch of the new coins brings Luno Malaysia’s digital asset offerings to 20.