KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Gamuda Bhd has won the coveted The Edge Billion Ringgit Club (BRC) 2024 Company of the Year award, while Public Bank Bhd managing director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek was named this year’s Outstanding CEO & Value Creator.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim graced the gala dinner and awards ceremony at St Regis Hotel on Friday, accompanied by Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

A total of 55 awards were given to 40 companies, including for corporate responsibility (CR).

While acknowledging that there is no shortage of accolades and awards in the corporate world, The Edge Media Group chairman Tan Sri Tong Kooi Ong said in his welcome address that none promotes meritocracy and transparency the way the BRC corporate award does.

“The Edge BRC awards recognise success based on transparent and universally accepted measures. Companies and individuals that win awards at BRC must truly be deserving of recognition. And this is evident by the exceptional success of the companies that have previously won The BRC Company of the Year award,” Tong said, noting that the stock price of 12 out of 13 companies that have won The BRC Company of the Year award outperformed the overall stock market by more than 75%, on average, over a period of three years.

“This is achieved because our award methodology and evaluation criteria are transparent, verifiable and independently audited. Not only are we proud of this, it is also the reason Corporate Malaysia covet The Edge BRC awards. And what do we hope to achieve in giving out these awards? Our sole purpose is that it brings out the best in every Malaysian company and its management,” Tong added.

Anwar, in his keynote address, said the government is prepared to review policies and regulations if the private sector can convince the government that it will lead to greater investments and economic activities and create more paying jobs especially for young Malaysians. 

“We are always willing to listen to the private sector and we invite you to engage with this government more regularly.  However, in presenting your ideas and proposals, you should also prioritise nation building, think of the rakyat and how we can help them,” he said.

Touching on the public sector, Anwar outlined the government’s dedication to implement various reforms to the public service delivery system in a bid to simplify, expedite and  enhance the transparency of bureaucratic processes.

“Red tape leads to inefficiency, wastage of resources and increases the costs for businesses,” the prime minister said.

“While some reforms are simpler and easier to implement, others may require longer time, detailed consideration and planning prior to implementation. I seek your understanding and support as we work towards realising these reforms.

“I am convinced, as we make further progress in the digitalisation of the economy and in delivery of public services, you will see not just greater efficiency, more decisive and transparent public service, but also significantly reduced incidences and severity of public sector corruption, thus helping businesses perform better and more efficiently,” he added.

Anwar emphasised that addressing corruption is equally vital.

“Corruption erodes trust, exacerbates inequality and hampers economic development.  But more importantly, corruption is a disease that infests. It kills good businesses, discourages hardworking people and destroys ethics, values and culture.”

“If there is a single factor that can help explain why some countries succeed but others fail, it is the degree of corruption. Corruption is not only bad for business and the economy, but it also destroys the very fabric of societies. Don’t forget even the great Roman Empire finally collapsed because corruption weakened its foundations,” 

“I appeal to Corporate Malaysia to help the government in fighting corruption, both in the public and private sectors. This is one of the promises this government made to the people and we will do our best to deliver on this promise,” he added.

Tong, in his address, said that while financial returns are important, companies do not exist for the sole purpose of making profits in any society. Economic entities must also aim to make positive contributions to enable a better world and enriching lives.

“This is also in line with the Madani concept of national economic development, of social well-being, environmental sustainability, ethical governance, equal opportunities and addressing social-economic disparities,” Tong said, citing the call on Corporate Malaysia to “always do well by doing good” by Tan Chor Sen, CEO of OCBC Bank Malaysia, a key partner since the award’s inauguration in 2010.

OCBC’s Tan congratulated this year’s BRC winners, saying they continue to leave a lasting imprint of good corporate governance alongside being exemplars of sustainable excellence.

“Heartiest congratulations to all winners on their well-deserved recognition. They have raised the bar even higher this year whilst setting new benchmarks for excellence, unearthing fresh winning formulas that mesh fine business acumen with a keen sense of corporate responsibility. Their endeavours have continued to centre on sustainability and accountability, weaved seamlessly into the business equation to uplift society as a whole. We laud the good you have brought to the table and hope you continue to flourish,” Tan said.

Amanda Zhang, CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Cars Malaysia and head of region, Mercedes-Benz Cars SEA II, also applauded the winners and called upon all BRC members to embrace the challenges and opportunities of the sustainability transition.

“Recognition is often the best motivator for success and it motivates one to strive for excellence and performance.  My heartiest congratulations to all the winners for their efforts and achievements. We can all leverage on such recognition that encourages us to further integrate sustainability into our core business strategy,” she said.

There were 188 The Edge BRC members this year, beating the previous all-time high of 186 companies in 2021. Last year there were 181 BRC members.

This year’s 188 BRC members command a market cap of RM1.7 trillion or close to 90% of the combined market cap of all Bursa Malaysia-listed companies as at March 31, 2024.

BRC members continue to be major taxpayers, paying an estimated RM36 billion in taxes for FY2023, comparable to FY2021 and significantly higher than RM23 billion for FY2020 and RM28 billion for FY2019. Estimated taxes were a shade below RM42 billion in FY2022, the year the one-off 33% prosperity tax or cukai makmur on companies with chargeable income over RM100 million for assessment year 2022 — above the corporate tax rate of 24%.

Paying homage to the BRC awards’ partners, The Edge Media Group publisher and CEO Datuk Ho Kay Tat said: “I thank our distinguished partners, OCBC Bank Malaysia and Mercedes-Benz Cars Malaysia, for their steadfast support in honouring, recognising and celebrating Corporate Malaysia’s continued excellence. The Edge BRC awards ceremony and gala dinner would not be the prestigious and Corporate Malaysia’s most anticipated annual gathering that it has become without their ardent support.”

In its 15th instalment this year, the BRC awards ceremony honouring Corporate Malaysia’s best performing and top responsible organisations aims to spur Malaysian companies to be even better at what they do — not just financially, but also as corporate citizens.

Bursa Malaysia-listed companies with at least RM1 billion market capitalisation as at March 31 each year are added to the annual The Edge-BRC membership list automatically and are evaluated on growth in profit, return on equity (ROE), and total return to shareholders over a rolling three-year period, plus corporate responsibility (CR) commitments. The billion-ringgit cut-off serves as an aspirational target for dynamic smaller companies. Results are independently audited by Deloitte Malaysia.

Last year, Mega First Corp Bhd was Company of the Year. Other previous winners were Frontken Corp Bhd (2022), ViTrox Corp Bhd (2021), Hartalega Holdings Bhd (2020), Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd (2019), Petronas Dagangan Bhd (2018), AirAsia Bhd (2017), Nestlé (M) Bhd (2016), Tenaga Nasional Bhd (2015), Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd (2014), DiGi.Com Bhd (2013), Genting Bhd (2012), QL Resources Bhd (2011) and Supermax Corp Bhd (2010).

Past winners of the Value Creator: Malaysia’s Outstanding CEO award were the late Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow, chairman of Public Bank Group (2010); CIMB group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak (2010); AMMB Holdings Bhd chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim (2012); AirAsia group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (2012); former S P Setia Bhd president and CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin (2013); former Malayan Banking Bhd president and CEO Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar (2013); Sunway Group chairman Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah (2014); Axiata Group Bhd president and group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim (2014); Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar (2016); the late Tan Sri G Gnanalingam, Westports Holdings Bhd executive chairman (2017); Dialog Group Bhd executive chairman and co-founder Tan Sri Ngau Boon Keat (2018); QL Resources Bhd executive chairman Chia Song Kun (2019); Maybank president and CEO Datuk Seri Abdul Farid Alias (2021) as well as Batu Kawan Bhd chairman and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd CEO Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian (2022). The Value Creator: Malaysia’s Outstanding CEO award was not given out in 2011, 2015, 2020.

Details of The Edge BRC members and award winners will be published in a special supplement in the September 16 issue of The Edge Malaysia weekly, available at newsstands on Saturday, September 14.

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