Welcome Address By
Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Sulaiman Mahbob - Chairman of MSWG
MSWG-ASEAN Corporate Governance Recognition 2017
The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur
6 December 2017 (Wednesday)
Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Yang Berhormat Dato’ Wira Othman bin Aziz, Deputy Finance Minister I
- Tan Sri-TanSri, Dato’-Dato’
- Distinguished guests
- Members of the media
- Ladies and Gentlemen
Salam Sejahtera and Good Evening.
It is an honour and privilege for me to welcome you, on behalf of MSWG, to the MSWG-ASEAN Corporate Governance Recognition 2017.
May I extend my deep appreciation to the Deputy Finance Minister I, Yang Berhormat Dato’ Wira Othman bin Aziz, who is able to make time for this event to deliver the Keynote Address and present tonight’s MSWG-ASEAN Corporate Governance Recognition 2017 Awards.
We are very pleased to see more than 750 attendees joining us tonight to celebrate the announcement of the top 100 companies, and the presentation of awards recognising achievements of public listed companies, and of individuals in various areas of corporate governance. This is the biggest ever crowd for our annual CG event - thank you very much for your continuous support.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As many of you are aware, the ASEAN CG Scorecard is one of the key initiatives of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum, or ACMF, to raise the corporate governance standards of ASEAN companies, thus strengthening ASEAN’s global competitiveness and enhance visibility of ASEAN as an asset class. This initiative has not only been recognised by the ASEAN companies and regulators but also by global entities, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA), and International Finance Corporation (IFC), paving the way for greater collaboration.
We are now into our sixth year of using the ASEAN CG Scorecard as a tool to assess our public listed companies’ adoption of CG principles and best practices. This year’s assessment involving 900 public listed companies is more rigorous and stringent, as we are using the newly revised Scorecard which had been endorsed by the ACMF early this year.
Thus, I am pleased to inform that despite the more stringent assessment, the Transparency Index for the Top 100 PLCs continued to be on an upward trend. This is indeed commendable, amid today’s challenging business environment
As good corporate governance would also be ultimately reflected in financial performance, the criteria of Return on Equity and Total Shareholder Return are also included in the performance assessment to determine the Overall CG and Performance award recipients.
This event today, is significant as we recognise corporates that have championed transparency while achieving sustainable performance. We will be sharing with the audience the key findings of the Top 100 PLCs in terms of their CG disclosures and practices later tonight.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good corporate governance reflects the quality of our capital market, particularly in the eyes of the international community. Our CG framework continued to be enhanced with the release of the new Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance by Securities Commission this year, aimed to strengthen corporate culture anchored on accountability and transparency as well as to address developments in corporate governance and the rapidly changing corporate and financial landscape. We look forward to see better quality disclosures on CG practices in the Annual Reports in the future
Bursa Malaysia, as the frontline regulator, has also continuously introduced initiatives that promote good CG conduct. Recently, Bursa Malaysia launched the Green Lane Policy, or GLP incentive to the top 30 listed companies based on their good standard of corporate governance conduct and disclosure practices. The GLP grants certain privileges to these listed companies including faster issuance of circulars to shareholders. The GLP is aimed at recognising and rewarding these companies by facilitating a more efficient time-to-market for their corporate proposals.
Corporate governance is one of the most important pillars of MSWG in our vision for advocating shareholder activism with the objective of protecting shareholder rights and ultimately enhancing shareholder value. We continue to monitor public listed companies and engage constructively with the boards, amongst others, to promote good CG culture and practices among our PLCs.
Within the institutional investors fraternity, we are pleased to observe that the institutional investors themselves too are now more transparent in disclosing their stewardship responsibilities and voting guidelines, thus showing leadership by example and influencing good governance practices not only in their investee companies, but also throughout the investment chain.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to take this opportunity to inform that Malaysia has been named as host of the second ASEAN Corporate Governance Conference and Awardsand MSWG has been given the honour to organise this regional event with the support of local regulators.
The event is tentatively scheduled to be held in late March 2018 and we look forward to see more of our Malaysian PLCs being showcased in the Top 50 ASEAN list. Six Malaysian PLCs were named in the ASEAN Top 50 at the inaugural event held in 2015. This prestigious recognition will serve to highlight the crème de la crème in ASEAN region and enhance visibility of ASEAN PLCs as an asset class. We look forward to your support and participation at this regional event.
Before I take my leave I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Members of the Adjudication Committee for their valuable input and contributions in determining the Top 100 companies this year and award recipients.
Our appreciation also goes to the Capital Market Development Fund, regulators, institutions and listed companies that have supported MSWG over the years, the media, investors fraternity both the institutional and retail, as well as those who share our commitment towards raising the level of CG in this country.
I would also like to thank the MSWG team, headed by Puan Lya Rahman as the Head of the ASEAN CG Scorecard project for Malaysia, for their unwavering commitment to ensure that our PLCs be at the forefront in the region in terms of good CG disclosures and practices. I also would like to send my gratitude to MSWG for organising tonight’s event.
Last but not least, congratulations to all our award winners tonight. It is our hope that your excellence in the CG arena be emulated by other listed companies in Malaysia and help raise awareness of the need for companies to be transparent and accountable to their shareholders and other stakeholders.
Thank you and have a pleasant evening ahead.
Wabillahitaufik walhidayah, wassalamualaikum w.b.t.