Investment simulation game kicks off

OSK Investment Bank Bhd yesterday launched the OSK Investment Challenge (OSKIC), a virtual investing competition which simulates trading on Bursa Malaysia. The competition gives participants the opportunity to pit their skills against their peers and learn about stock market investing without the accompanying financial risks. The launch was officiated by Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Yusli Mohamed Yusoff.

OSK Investment Bank group managing director and CEO Ong Leong Huat said OSK had developed this game to build a new generation of potential investors, to remove any phobias they might have about the stock market and give them real world-like experience.

“When it comes to investing, there is only so much we can learn on paper or from listening to advice.”

Yusli said the game would provide valuable information about stock market investing, especially with the worrying trend of decreased retail participation in our stock market among young Malaysians.

A survey spearheaded by Bursa Malaysia released earlier this year showed that only 12% of those in the 20 to 29 age group was active in the local stock market, citing reasons like “High risk”, “expensive” and “difficult to learn”, he added.

The OSKIC is open to Malaysian students from local universities and colleges. Seventy campuses nationwide that offer business or finance programmes are invited to participate, with 30 campuses within the Klang Valley selected as locations for road shows.

Ong. Photo by Suhaimi Yusuf

Although only officially launched yesterday, the competition has attracted over 5,000 participants. Participants can register throughout the duration of the competition, from Aug 16 to Oct 1.

They are given RM100,000 in virtual game money to start with, which they can use to invest. All orders will be matched with actual transactions on Bursa Malaysia.

The competition awards prizes in two categories — Individual and Campus. In the Individual category, the top three individuals with the highest score at the end of the game will receive the grand prizes of RM25,000, RM10,000 and RM5,000 respectively. Weekly prizes of two Aspire One AOD260 Netbooks sponsored by Acer will also be awarded to the top two participants with the highest absolute gains for the week.

In the Campus category, the prize will be a computer lab worth RM100,000 to be awarded to the campus with the highest portfolio value. This is calculated based on the total scores of the top 20 students from each campus.

Personal Money magazine is also a sponsor of the competition. For more information and resources, visit www.oskic.com.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, August 17, 2010.