CGS International: Decisive Leadership Transition to Start 2026
CGS International Securities Malaysia has entered 2026 with a clear strategic signal – growth, regional integration, and capital market leadership.
CGS International has appointed Khairi Shahrin Arief bin Baki as Chief Executive Officer and Alan Inn Wei Loon as Country Head, a move first announced in November 2025 and now fully effective as the new year begins.
The appointments position CGS MY to sharpen its domestic execution while scaling cross-border ambitions at a time when Malaysia’s investment narrative is gaining momentum.
Anchoring Strategy in Malaysia’s Macro Tailwinds
The leadership reshuffle comes against a constructive macro backdrop. Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship, coupled with growth themes spanning digital technology, energy transition, and healthcare, underpinned several strategic milestones for CGS MY in 2025.
According to Khairi, the firm sees 2026 as a year to convert groundwork into measurable outcomes, particularly in facilitating partnerships and capital flows aligned with Malaysia’s high-growth, high-value economic agenda.
Leveraging China-ASEAN Connectivity For Capital Flows
A core differentiator remains CGS MY’s China-ASEAN heritage. Khairi highlighted the firm’s role in bridging Malaysian and Chinese corporates across sectors such as renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and digital technology, spanning government-to-government, business-to-government, and retail channels.
In 2025 alone, CGS MY executed eight memorandums of understanding with public and private institutions, including collaborations with Bursa Malaysia and Shanghai-based Fullgoal Asset Management (HK) to facilitate foreign-underlying exchange-traded fund listings.
Retail Innovation and Market Access
Under Khairi’s prior tenure as Co-Deputy CEO, CGS MY accelerated innovation across retail, institutional, and private wealth segments, with particular focus on Islamic finance and environmental, social and governance solutions.
A notable milestone was the launch of fractional trading on the UP app for Bursa Malaysia’s top 30 companies – a market-first initiative designed to broaden access and strengthen investment literacy among young and first-time investors through curated research-led content.
Backed by Fundamentals
As CEO, Khairi is doubling down on operational discipline and regulatory stewardship while remaining constructive on market prospects. CGS MY’s Navigating Malaysia Report sets a KLCI target of 1,810 for 2026, supported by Malaysia’s relatively low exposure to global tariff risks, favourable ASEAN-related exemptions from US reciprocal tariffs, a steadier ringgit amid narrowing interest rate differentials, and policy stability.
«Against this backdrop, we are moving quickly to capitalise on current sentiment and capture opportunities early in the year», he noted.
Focus on Regional and Cross-Border Expansion
Complementing this domestic focus, Alan Inn steps in as Country Head with a mandate centred on regional scale.
He will oversee growth across asset and wealth management, investment banking, private equity, and cross-border initiatives, drawing on deep investment banking experience to accelerate collaboration across markets.
Regional Ambition
Alan Inn expressed confidence in reaching RM3 billion in assets under management within three years, driven by resilient domestic sectors and national initiatives such as the National Energy Transition Roadmap and the New Industrial Master Plan.
He also pointed to rising interest in China Plus One strategies and cross-border platforms like the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zones as catalysts for sustained deal flow and capital raising.
Positioning Malaysia
The dual appointments underscore CGS MY’s broader ambition to evolve into Asia’s global investment house. With China’s continued leadership in technology and renewable energy under initiatives such as Belt and Road 2.0, CGS MY aims to connect capital, expertise, and local partners through its investment banking and asset and wealth management platforms.
As Khairi concluded, the strong stakeholder support during the transition reinforces confidence that the firm’s growth agenda is firmly on track for 2026 and beyond.
