KUALA LUMPUR: It has become increasingly important for Malaysian investors to align their financial activities with broader societal values, in line with the global responsible-investing trend, says Bursa Malaysia Bhd
head of investor strategy and development Stephanie Tan.
Using the solid performance of FBM KLCI in the first half of the year (1H24) as background, she said national policies such as the National Energy Transition Roadmap and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 will play a pivotal role in charting Malaysia’s long-term sustainable and inclusive economic reform.
“By emphasising companies that are environmentally, socially and governance (ESG) as well as syariah-compliant, we can foster a more sustainable and ethically responsible financial ecosystem,” she said.
Tan, who was speaking at the launch of Maybank Investment Bank Bhd’s (Maybank IB) myimpact Invest campaign here yesterday, cited a Bursa Malaysia retail survey from last year that showed a growing trend of interest among young investors in ESG and syariah-compliant products.
She said the survey, in which 38% of respondents were between the ages of 18 to 24, revealed that a significant portion of participants viewed strong ESG practices as a contributing factor to a firm’s long-term sustainability and profitability.
“Among the issuers, it is also noteworthy that public listed companies on the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index (F4GBM Index) generally trade 1.7 times higher in price-to-book value,” she added.
She noted the regulator’s launch, also yesterday, of the Pribumi Bursa Malaysia Zakat Index (PBMZI), which is a customised index designed to promote greater recognition of public listed companies that choose to adopt corporate zakat practice.
Meanwhile, Maybank IB myimpact Invest campaign is an initiative that looks to reward trading clients who trade stocks on Bursa Malaysia with prizes, incentivising trading in ESG and syariah-compliant stocks by granting doubling the number of campaign entries for trades in shares of these companies.
The investment bank’s chief operating officer and the campaign’s office-in-charge Tengku Ariff Azhar said the drive builds upon Malayan Banking Bhd’s (Maybank) flagship myimpact initiative.
“Myimpact offers value-based financial services and solutions to realise positive economic value through fair, transparent, inclusive and sustainable practices as a strategic differentiator for Maybank,” he said in his opening speech at the campaign launch.
Moreover, he said Maybank IB has embedded the five principles of myimpact into the campaign, namely promoting economic value creation while eliminating speculative and harmful activities, being transparent and fair dealing, promoting excellence in quality-of-service delivery, financial inclusivity, as well as preservation of the environment.
With myimpact Invest campaign, Ariff said the investment bank is taking one step further to promote purposeful investing by supporting the local stock market, in particular, the constituents of the F4GBM Index as well as syariah-compliant securities as determined by the Securities Commission.
Among prizes to be won are flight tickets and accommodation in London, Tokyo and the Maldives, smartphones and online shopping vouchers throughout the six-month-long campaign, which will run from yesterday to Jan 14, 2025.
Ariff added: “In line with Maybank IB’s commitment to sustainability, the flights include carbon offset and accommodation that will be at green-certified hotels.”
He said that befitting the investment bank’s status as a full-fledged broker with full-value offerings, it is always aiming to give clients fresh trading ideas delivered via a seamless experience on its new mobile application platforms.
Using its new Maybank Trade MY mobile application (app) launched in April this year as an example, he said the app was developed through client engagement and iterative improvement.
“By making investing simple, secure and smart, we democratise the ability for people to grow their wealth. With just RM10, they can open a trading account and utilise the resources on our application to make informed investment decisions,” said Ariff.
On a separate note, he told StarBiz that new features on Maybank Trade MY will be rolled out in stages, with the foreign trading feature slated for September.
