KUALA LUMPUR(June 8): Bursa Malaysia Bhd announced that eight companies will join the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia (F4GBM) Index, while six others will be added to the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Shariah (F4GBMS) Index.

The eight additions to the F4GBM Index are Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp), Berjaya Food Bhd (BFood), FM Global Logistics Holdings Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Hextar Global Bhd, Lagenda Properties Bhd, Tasco Bhd and UWC Bhd.

With the additions, seven other companies were dropped from the F4GBM Index: CJ Century Logistics Holdings Bhd, DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd, FGV Holdings Bhd, Media Chinese International Ltd, SCGM Bhd, Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust, and Vitrox Corp Bhd.

The changes made to the F4GBM Index raised the total number of constituents to 98 from 97 previously.

As for the six additions to the F4GBMS, they were Berjaya Food Bhd, FM Global Logistics Holdings Bhd, Hextar Global Bhd, Lagenda Properties Bhd, Tasco Bhd, and UWC Bhd.

At the same time, seven other companies were dropped, namely CJ Century Logistics Holdings Bhd, DKSH Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd, FGV Holdings Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Media Chinese International Ltd, SCGM Bhd, and Vitrox Corp Bhd.

Hence, F4GBMS Index now has 77 constituents, down one from before the review.

The F4GBM Index measures the performance of public listed companies (PLCs) that demonstrate strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. Its constituents are drawn from companies of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia EMAS Index, comprising PLCs from across the small, medium and large market capitalisation segments.

The F4GBMS Index, meanwhile, was launched in July 2021 with 54 constituents. It is designed to track constituents in the F4GBM that are shariah-compliant in accordance with the Shariah Advisory Council screening methodology.

Both indices are reviewed semi-annually in June and December against international benchmarks.

All constituent changes will take effect on June 19, 2023.

Bursa Malaysia and FTSE Russell have been conducting outreach programmes to encourage and support companies in improving their ESG disclosures and practices. Bursa Malaysia has also undertaken various collaborative efforts with other ESG ecosystem players, such as financial institutions and institutional investors, to further incentivise PLCs to advance their respective ESG journey, according to Bursa.

"The continuous increase in the number of constituents reflects the effectiveness of these programmes, and stronger embodiment of ESG practices among the group of PLCs," the statement read, adding the updated FTSE4Good ESG ratings (bands) of PLCs, as assessed by FTSE Russell, will be available on the Bursa's website after June 23.