Izah Azahari
The third instalment of the Baiduri Capital Investment Challenge (BCIC) concluded with a prize presentation ceremony at Baiduri Bank Headquarters at 1 Jalan Gadong yesterday.
Two teams secured profits at the conclusion of the Investment Challenge. Harvest Capital from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) managed to make BND4,968 while Investscape from Politeknik Brunei (PB) made BND720.60.
Harvest Capital team leader Nur Haziqah Jahirah binti Haji Osman said that her team learnt a valuable lesson after their initial indecisiveness resulted in making a small profit.
“After our initial hesitation we continued with research and found a company we wanted to invest in,” she added. “Through the guidance and information provided to us by our mentors combined with our own risk appetite, we went all in and invested in just one company. That bold move paid off in the end.”
Investscape team leader Mohammad Iqbal bin Haji Fikri said that the investment challenge has been a humbling experience and it taught them the importance of conducting thorough research on investment options and keeping a close eye on the stock market.
Throughout the challenge, participants were given direct access to licensed dealers who acted as their mentors and offered insights and advice into the world of trading and investing. Both teams added that the access to these mentors were important towards their decision-making process throughout the challenge.
“The mentors from Baiduri Capital helped increase our awareness on the various facets of investing as well as the different tools and services that Baiduri Capital provides for investors,” said Iqbal. “Their consultation service has been a great benefit for us as new investors.”
This edition’s BCIC began in October last year and ended in April. This time, participants were made up of undergraduate students from UBD, Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) and PB.
Each team comprised of four members and were given BND5,000 as initial capital to invest into any of the securities listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX), Malaysia Stock Exchange (Bursa), Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx), China A-Shares (SSE-A) or the US Stock Exchange (NYSE MKT LLC, NYSE and Nasdaq). Any profits earned by the teams in the challenge were retained by them.
Baiduri Capital General Manager Peng Eng Soon said that the aim of the BCIC is to cultivate awareness and generate interest in financial investment and capital markets.
“This is our third time holding it and we have received encouraging feedback from participants. They have shared how important it is that the investment challenge provided them with access to Baiduri Capital’s digital platform, which is the same tool that our full-fledged investors use,” said Peng.
Peng presented certificates of participation to the teams, while Harvest Capital and Investscape were also presented with trophies for recording profits. Present at the event were licensed dealers and senior financial planners from Baiduri Capital.