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As part of its ongoing efforts to promote high standards of corporate disclosure, Bursa Malaysia has made various amendments to its Listing Requirements (LR) and introduced a Corporate Disclosure Guide (CD Guide) aimed at assisting listed issuers elevate their standards of disclosure. High standards of disclosure is a value proposition that can enhance a listed issuer’s investability.
Bursa Malaysia’s Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Tajuddin Atan said, “Bursa Malaysia’s regulatory framework aims primarily to maintain market integrity and investor protection. In this regard, reliable, informative and timely disclosures are key towards building a corporate community that is disclosure based and transparent.
“The amendments made are part of the Exchange’s continuous review given the ever-changing capital market environment. In this dynamic environment, investors demand for timely, adequate and relevant information to make informed decisions.”
"For listed issuers, it is in their interest to ensure timely disclosure of accurate and quality information in order to maintain investors’ confidence. The CD Guide will help listed issuers better understand their disclosure obligations and improve overall transparency in the marketplace, thereby enhancing their investability.”
The amendments to the LR for the Main and ACE markets and the issuance of the CD Guide were made following consultations with the public, industry groups and stakeholders. The amendments are in the following key areas:
- improving the quality of information for financial reporting;
- improving disclosure by listed issuers in areas of related party transactions, poll voting, corporate proposals, boardroom/senior management/external audit announcements;
- according greater flexibility to listed issuers in structuring share scheme for employees;
- promoting greater transparency in respect of share schemes for employees which do not involve issuance of new shares;
- facilitating listed issuers to pay dividends in shares to their shareholders through a “ Dividend Reinvestment Scheme”; and
- promoting greater efficiency in the market by allowing listed issuers to buy back odd lot shares through direct business transactions.
The amendments to the LR will take effect from 3 January 2012. In respect of the enhanced disclosure requirements in the quarterly financial reports and annual reports, all listed issuers must comply with the enhanced disclosures in the LR for the financial periods/years ending on or after 31 December 2011.
In conjunction with the issuance of the amendments to the LR and the CD Guide, Bursa Malaysia plans to organise a series of advocacy programmes for chief executive officers and chief financial officers to aid in the application of the corporate disclosure policy under the LR.
For the full list of the LR amendments and details of the CD Guide, please visit Bursa Malaysia’s website at www.bursamalaysia.com
