KUALA LUMPUR: The top 20 companies on Bursa Malaysia donated RM159.69 million in cash in 2021 based on Wiki Impact’s "Bursa Top 20: Who’s The Most Charitable?” report.
Sime Darby, Tenaga Nasional, Telekom Malaysia, and CIMB were among the top givers in 2021, according to the report.
The report said the average percentage of cash-giving to net profit across all 20 companies was 0.29 per cent.
With RM20 million of its RM1.42 billion net profit going to charity and other social and environmental initiatives, Sime Darby Bhd
was the biggest cash giver at 1.40 per cent (cash-giving to net profit).
"Additionally, Tenaga Nasional Bhd earned RM3.66 billion in net profit and gave over RM39.57 million in cash donations, exceeding the 1 per cent cash-giving to net profit threshold,” it said.
The Bursa Top 20 are the highest-earning companies listed on Malaysia’s stock exchange with sizable profits and large business operations and also have been the biggest givers in Malaysia as the country battled the economic and social challenges due to COVID-19.
Wiki Impact co-founder Terence Ooi said these Top 20 Bursa companies "have generously and openly given out of a strong sense of corporate social and environmental accountability.”
He said the report set a baseline and paints a vision for other companies to follow or surpass in their giving.
"This evidence-based reporting not only paints a picture of corporate giving in Malaysia but also presents an opportunity to spark conversations in boardrooms on the need and significance for profit-making companies to contribute in cash and in-kind - and be transparent about how they are making a difference,” Ooi added.
Aside from cash-giving, the report stated that companies also gave in-kind, in the form of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, food, products and services to support their staff, societies and communities affected by the pandemic.
COVID-19 assistance, relief and financial aid were the biggest causes that companies gave to in 2021. - Bernama
