KUALA LUMPUR (June 9): Bursa Malaysia is expected to launch the second guidebook on the Public Listed Companies Transformation (PLCT) Programme entitled “Sustainable, Social Responsible and Ethical Public Listed Companies (PLCs)” on Friday (June 10).
Bursa Malaysia Bhd chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said this follows the first book on the programme which was launched in March this year that touched on “Creating Purpose & Performance Driven Public Listed Companies”.
“As an exchange, we’re only as good as the companies that are listed. So how they perform will determine the value that we create for the marketplace,” he said at the “Sustainability for Business Longevity” session in conjunction with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) International Accountants Conference 2022 on Thursday (June 9).
Abdul Wahid noted that there is a paradigm shift when it comes to the benefits of environmental, social and governance (ESG) to companies.
According to him, ESG was initially adopted as a way of improving compliance and risk management, but now has been proven to create new opportunities for business growth.
The second guidebook provides PLCs with practical guiding steps on the key components of a well-defined ESG response and how they can define their strategy, initiatives and metrics for improved impact.
He added that key enablers of ESG strategy and drivers for ESG practices, as well as disclosures, are highlighted to support PLCs to enhance their ESG response.
“The idea here is actually to provide guidance to the PLCs on how we can go about embedding sustainability in strategy and business operations and also towards meeting the disclosure requirements as demanded not just by us, regulators and the Securities Commission (SC), but also by all the various stakeholders,” he said.
Abdul Wahid elaborated that the book provides an introduction on the importance of ESG and investor sentiment, with some context on the rise of ESG risks and opportunities and the need for companies to priortise ESG in order to create and maintain long-term value.
This comes as ESG has become top priority for companies and is shifting from compliance-oriented activities to driving resilience, strategic advantage and further value creation.
“Since the launch of the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index in December 2014, Malaysia has seen growing improvement in ESG disclosure and practices. The index constituents have increased 24 to 79 in May 2022, since its launch.”
“By doing good, you are not being extra but in fact you will perform better, both as a business and of course returns as an investor,” he said.
Prior to this, Abdul Wahid in Bursa Malaysia’s annual report released in March this year had urged leaders of PLCs to take part in a transformation programme for PLCs.
Spearheaded by Bursa, the programme is expected to increase the attractiveness ("investability") of listed companies in Malaysia by strengthening the growth narratives of PLCs across all sizes.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz announced the PLCT Programme in November last year, aimed at delivering a high-performance Corporate Malaysia.