Bursa Malaysia's Chairman, Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Haji Abdullah said in his speech that as a frontline regulator, the Exchange recognised the importance of having a culture based on good corporate governance. Tun Dzaiddin said, "Bursa Malaysia's Business Sustainability Programme for Corporate Malaysia is an integral element in building a capital market of quality and integrity. We seek to encourage Malaysian companies to be more mindful of their business conduct vis a vis their multifarious stakeholders."
Tun Dzaiddin added "Our Programme has been tailored to show companies the relevance of sustainability and how to practice sustainability in its truest form. The multi-pronged, comprehensive and progressive Programme consists of a sustainability guide for directors, a knowledge portal, a project matching facility and thought leadership sessions on the subject matter. It is our aim to be able to construct an Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Index in the near future. This index will be a catalyst for driving more SRI funds to our market."
Bursa Malaysia also launched Powering Business Sustainability - Guide for Director today which aims to assist directors in understanding the value of good sustainability practices and making this a priority issue in the boardroom agenda. Apart from providing clarity in managing and integrating environmental, social and corporate governance issues into strategic business practices, this comprehensive Guide also includes roles of the board in addressing different key sustainability concepts and the right questions to ask management. Additionally, the Guide addresses timely pertinent topics such as corporate reporting, global climate change and community relations, which will open up opportunities for listed companies to adopt good sustainability practices
In addition to the Guide, the Exchange also introduced the Sustainability Knowledge Portal on the Bursa Malaysia website. This online reference provides directors of listed companies up-to-date and comprehensive information such as global sustainability frameworks, case studies, Government-related tax incentives and benefits as well as discussions on key issues that are relevant to the Malaysian sustainability market.
Complementing these initiatives is a Business Sustainability Projects Matching Facility which will facilitate collaborative partnerships and alliances between listed companies and relevant organisations towards supporting the creation and implementation of comprehensive community, industry and environmental related initiatives. Educative and awareness platforms, namely thought leadership sessions, will also be held regularly to enable exchange of ideas and updates on sustainability trends as well as issues that are affecting specific industries.
At the launch today, panel sessions were also held to provide further insight on sustainable business practices, trends as well as the way forward for Corporate Malaysia. The panel sessions featured constructive discussions between prominent corporate figures and industry experts.
