This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 20, 2026 - July 26, 2026

The Edge: The MY Value Up guidebook notes that many public listed companies (PLCs) trade below book value, have a return on equity of less than 8% or have a return on invested capital below the weighted average cost of capital. Why did the SC choose a softer approach rather than be more prescriptive in disclosure requirements for PLCs, especially the smaller ones that probably need more guidance on what to do? Would it not be easier to prescribe a list of disclosures, with a disclose or explain mandate, given that the SC is well aware of the generic sector-specific ratios that investors look out for?

Securities Commission Malaysia: MY Value Up is initially focused on market movers, which account for more than 80% of Bursa Malaysia’s total market capitalisation. As market leaders, these companies are well placed to set the tone and the benchmark for value creation and governance excellence.

As a key initiative of the SC’s Capital Market Masterplan 2026-2030 (CMP), it seeks to encourage boards of directors and management to take greater responsibility for corporate value creation through clearer performance targets, stronger governance and improved transparency.

MY Value Up is a voluntary programme, designed as a principles-based, phased programme to foster genuine board ownership for long-term value creation, rather than a checklist-driven exercise. The approach reflects the SC’s view that sustainable outcomes and meaningful culture change are more likely to be achieved when boards and management internalise the purpose of value creation and take ownership of the process.

Different companies and sectors have different value drivers and may be at different stages of their life cycle, so the focus on encouraging PLCs to explain their strategy, capital allocation choices and governance discipline allow for a more meaningful engagement with investors. A prescribed approach may drive the box-ticking compliance-based mentality instead of a strategic perspective that the programme seeks to achieve.

The SC and Bursa Malaysia will continue to monitor the implementation and market feedback as the programme evolves. The efficacy of the programme will not be assessed only by participation numbers, but more importantly by the credibility of MY Value Up Plans, stronger investor engagement and whether companies are better able to articulate and execute sustainable long-term value creation.

Since better-quality disclosures and communication are deemed important, why not mandate quarterly disclosures of key metrics, for instance with financial results, rather than allow once-a-year disclosure? Or is the SC starting with voluntary disclosures before moving towards being more prescriptive after assessing participation?

MY Value Up is intended to drive mid- to long-term value creation. The Value Up plans and strategies are intended to be implemented and assessed over a three- to five-year horizon, recognising that meaningful value creation typically takes time to materialise. The annual update would allow investors to be kept abreast of the progress, including an explanation of any material deviations from the original plans.

Requiring quarterly disclosures of key metrics at this stage could unintentionally encourage short-termism and an excessive focus on near-term performance, whereas the programme is intended to support boards in articulating and delivering sustainable value creation plans over a multi-year horizon.

Companies remain free [to], and should, regularly engage shareholders and analysts, and voluntarily publish relevant updates or key metrics beyond the annual disclosure cycle to support effective market communication.

How will the SC assess and measure whether the MY Value Up programme is yielding the intended outcome? Is success measured merely by the number of participants in MY Value Up providing voluntary disclosures at least once a year?

While participation is an important indicator of market adoption, the broader objective of MY Value Up is to strengthen investor trust and confidence in the Malaysian capital market through genuine strategic growth in the companies and more transparent communication by the PLCs.

The SC and Bursa Malaysia will monitor the programme through both quantitative and qualitative indicators. These include the level and profile of participation, the quality and specificity of MY Value Up Plans, whether companies set out credible targets and milestones, how they explain progress or material deviations over time and whether disclosures provide investors with more decision-useful information.

The SC and Bursa Malaysia will also monitor broader market signals, particularly by institutional investors. As companies grow in scale by strengthening their fundamentals and thus, achieving greater trading liquidity and investor interest, they become more visible and investible to a broader pool of capital. This, in turn, can improve their eligibility for inclusion in relevant market indices, which may subsequently attract passive investment flows.

Ultimately, the objective is to create a virtuous cycle where better disclosures and transparency lead to stronger investor confidence and participation to create a more dynamic capital market.

Will the SC evaluate disclosures or publish success indicators for MY Value Up? How will participating companies and investors know if MY Value Up is working to their benefit?

For PLCs, a useful starting point is to engage their analysts and investors directly and understand what information they would like to know that is not currently being communicated. In many cases, investors already have access to financial results and operational data. What may be less visible is the company’s strategic direction, where it is in its transformation or growth journey, how capital is being deployed and what milestones management is targeting over the medium to long term.

At this juncture, enhanced disclosures of Value Up Plans will be on a voluntary basis. Beginning in early 2027, the list of targeted PLCs that disclosed their Value Up Plans will be published by Bursa to favourably spotlight them and give stakeholders clearer visibility into their commitment and progress, enabling meaningful assessment.

Companies have distinct strategic and value-creation journeys, and management teams are often best placed to understand what success looks like for their business. The real opportunity is for companies to reflect on how they compare with market expectations and peers, identify what will take them to the next level and use MY Value Up to communicate that journey more clearly to investors.

Japan chose to apply reputational pressure to nudge change. Is the SC prepared to adopt such an approach if the current voluntary approach does not yield the desired improvement fast enough? If not, how does the SC plan to nudge companies that could be doing better into action for the betterment of the market?

Different markets have taken different approaches to encourage participation, reflecting their respective market structures and objectives. At this stage, the focus of MY Value Up is on encouraging companies to articulate their value creation journey and making that information more accessible to investors. The programme is intended to foster constructive engagement and continuous improvement, rather than relying primarily on reputational pressure.

Transparency itself can be a powerful market discipline. To support this, Bursa Malaysia has established a dedicated MY Value Up microsite that will serve as a central point of reference for investors, providing access to participating companies’ disclosures and greater visibility on which companies have chosen to participate. This enables investors, the media and the general public to make their own assessments and comparisons, while allowing companies that are taking proactive steps to communicate their long-term value creation plans to receive appropriate recognition from the market.

As with the broader programme, the SC will continue to monitor outcomes and consider whether additional measures are necessary as the initiative matures
 

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