Bursa Malaysia commits to Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative

BANGKOK: Bursa Malaysia Bhd on Monday signed the Sustainable Stock Exchanges’ (SSE) voluntary commitment to promote sustainability performance and transparency in capital markets.

In a statement released in Kuala Lumpur, it said the support for SSE’s sustainability initiative underscored the national exchange’s commitment to remain one of the world’s most competitive markets by integrating global best practices in the local marketplace.

Speaking at the SSE Regional Dialogue for South-East Asia in Bangkok on Monday, Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Tajuddin Atan shared the exchange’s experience in promoting sustainability among its listed constituents and the translation of policy into practical action.

“Bursa Malaysia is pleased to join the other global exchanges on the SSE platform as a partner exchange. This integrates well with our existing agenda and commitment to stepping up our efforts in promoting sustainable practices in our marketplace. The conversation on sustainability started almost a decade ago with the introduction of the Bursa Malaysia Corporate Responsibility framework in 2006, leading on to the introduction of Asean’s first globally benchmarked Environment, Social & Governance Ondex (ESG Index), the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia ESG Index (F4GBM index), in December last year,” he said.

Tajuddin said the F4GBM index would be the reference point and benchmark that companies could aspire to in efforts to step-up the standards in stakeholder value creation and allow for investors to take into consideration non-financial aspects such as a company’s environmental and societal initiatives.