Bursa Malaysia Berhad continues to reach out to more board of directors of public listed companies to promote good corporate governance and sustainability practices. As a front-line regulator committed to maintaining the integrity of the market and advocating best business practices for sustainable growth, Bursa Malaysia will be holding a series of educational and engagement initiatives specifically designed for boards of directors.
Commenting on the initiatives planned for the beginning of 2011, Selvarany Rasiah, Chief Regulatory Officer of Bursa Malaysia said, "Bursa Malaysia strongly advocates a corporate culture where high standards of corporate governance prevail, and sustainability practices are embedded in the core business strategies. Through our active engagement and educational activities, we hope to enhance directors' understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Furthermore, in an effort to reach more directors who may not be fully conversant in English, Bursa Malaysia has translated the Corporate Governance Guide (CG Guide) into Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin.
"The existence of a vibrant and well-regulated market is an essential contributing factor towards the growth and development of a country's economy. To remain an attractive destination for investment and listing, it is imperative that we continue to promote a market of quality and integrity - a market consisting of companies which practice corporate governance and sustainability with diligence and excellence," Selvarany added.
Governance Programmes for Directors
Under its Corporate Governance initiatives, Bursa Malaysia will be organising a series of half-day Governance Programmes for Directors focusing on specific governance areas. The areas of focus will be on independent directors, role of board chairman, audit committee and its challenges, nomination committee and assessing the risk and control environment. The specific governance programmes will enable focused discussions amongst directors and address specific challenges and concerns. The first session entitled, "Assessing the Risk and Control Environment" will be held on Thursday, 24 March 2011.
The translated Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin CG Guide will be available for download at Bursa Malaysia's website. Training programmes on the CG Guide are scheduled to be held on Thursday, 17 February 2011 (in Mandarin), Friday, 4 March 2011 (in Mandarin), Friday, 18 February 2011 (in Bahasa Malaysia) and Thursday, 3 March 2011 (in Bahasa Malaysia).
Sustainability Sessions for Directors
To further promote sustainability for Corporate Malaysia, a series of half-day Sustainability Sessions for Directors will be organised in the upcoming months. The sessions are meant to assist directors in familiarising themselves with good practices for sustainable business growth and discuss practical applications of sustainability in various industries.
The Sustainability Sessions for Directors will be tailored to focus on specific industries. Four sessions have been planned to start off the year: on Wednesday, 9 February 2011 for the Plantation, Construction, Property and Hotel industries; on Wednesday, 9 March 2011 for the Industrial Products industry; on Wednesday, 23 March 2011 for the Trading Services & Industrial Products industries; and on Wednesday, 13 April 2011 for the Consumer Products, Finance, Technology and Closed End Funds industries.