UUM IS CHAMPION OF BISC 2022, TAKES HOME RM15,000

UUM ONLINE: Kuala Lumpur - Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) emerged as the overall champion in the 'grand finale' of the Bursa Inter-Varsity Stock Challenge (BISC) 2022 organised by Bursa Malaysia on 30 November taking home the main prize worth RM15,000.

The Chair of Bursa Malaysia, the School of Economics, Finance and Banking (SEFB) took the initiative of sending a team consisting four members and two solo participants.

The 'Golden Bulls' team that secured the top spot included Chai Gao Siang a student of the Bachelor of Business Administration programme; Yap Wei Quan, a student of the Bachelor of International Business Management programme; Ooi Jun Jie , a student of the Bachelor of Finance programme; and Tan Soon Yao, a student of the Bachelor of Marketing programme. They too came in third place in the Fortnight and received a cash prize of RM500.

Furthermore, for solo participation, Tan Liang Shen, a student of the Bachelor of Accountancy programme, and Mohamad Norisham Mohd Shamsuddin, a student of the Bachelor of Business Administration (Logistics and Transport) programme, each took home the first-place prize, Fortnight 2, worth RM1,500, and a third-place prize, Fortnight 4, worth RM500.

Gao Siang was very happy with the result because it showed that all of their hard work in the competition had paid off.

"It was not easy to pass each of these screenings until we were crowned champions because we had to stay focused on the Malaysian stock market throughout the three months and get the Top 5 on the 'leaderboard.'"

"Furthermore, we were unable to devote our full attention to this competition because each team member had other work commitments during the semester break," the Semester 5 student explained.

Gao Siang added that before the competition began, they discussed investment strategies, which resulted in three main strategies namely the first is to monitor the global economic situation; the second is to use technical analysis, such as observing stock trends and determining support and resistance; and the third is to manage a portfolio, such as by keeping 20% in cash.

"This is an invaluable learning experience for all of us. I didn't expect to win because our competitors included Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, and Taylor's University," he explained.

For Mohamad Norisham, attending BISC this year was the best way to gain new stock market experience.

He stated that he had the opportunity to learn how to buy and sell shares and accumulate profits, but that he needed to first research the company before purchasing shares.

"I need to study the chart to determine what the best price is to buy and sell shares. This new experience has been a lot of fun "said the third-semester student.

The three-month stock trading simulation competition, which ran from August 15 to November 11, was meant to see how well college students could make good returns on their investments.

It is open to all local university students, and participants receive guidance and instruction from sponsoring brokers as mentors throughout the three-month competition to form the Unibroker Team.

While coaching the team on trading strategies, the mentor will provide access to all relevant research reports and analytics.

The competition is divided into two phases: the three-month stock challenge and the 'grand finale,' in which the selected teams will present their investment principles and strategies for evaluation to a panel of judges.

This competition has provided students with the opportunity to gain a practical understanding of the world of stock market trading. Trading simulation allows participants to learn how to trade on the Malaysian stock exchange without any real-world risk and to prepare for futures trading in the real world.

The competition's opening ceremony was also organised by the Chair of Bursa Malaysia, UUM SEFB, and was officiated by the UUM Vice-Chancellor of UUM, Prof. Dr Haim Hilman Abdullah, on 18 July at the CAS Seminar Hall, which was also attended by Mr. A. A. Deepa, Senior Vice-President, Education, Group Sustainability, Bursa Malaysia.

UUM's participation in this competition also demonstrates UUM's support for the programmes organised by Bursa Malaysia, and the good relationship between these two parties is further strengthened by endowment funds channelled to SEFB for the purpose of student development.

In addition to UUM, UM, USM, International Islamic University of Malaysia (UIAM), Taylor's University, Multimedia University (MMU), and Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) participated in BISC 2022.