MALAYSIA will attract more applicants for its digital bank licences than Singapore or Hong Kong, experts believe, mainly because of its relatively lower capital requirement. “We think there could be between 30 and 50 applicants. Not all of them may have the same level of commitment, though,” Shankar Kanabiran, a financial services advisory partner at EY Malaysia, tells The Edge. Bank Negara Malaysia, which released its licensing framework for digital banks on Dec 31 last year after a six-month public consultation, plans to award up to five such licences. The central bank set a June 30 deadline for those interested to apply to do Islamic or conventional digital banking business, and will announce the winners by the first quarter of 2022.