MY Value-Up To Shift Boardroom Focus To Long-term Value Creation -- SC
KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 (Bernama) – Malaysia’s MY Value-Up initiative to reshape boardroom priorities is designed to encourage companies to communicate their strategies more effectively, improve performance and enhance investors' perception of their long-term value proposition.
Securities Commission Malaysia executive chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi said listed companies are encouraged to place greater emphasis on performance, capital discipline, investor engagement and accountability to strengthen market confidence and attract long-term capital.
“My Value-Up is actually quite critical. Basically, it encourages companies to tell a better story,” he said during a panel session, “MY Value-Up: Reframing Board Accountability, Stewardship and Market Confidence”.
The panel discussion was held on the sidelines of Invest Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 2026 here today.
Although Malaysia’s capital market remains fundamentally strong, there is room for companies to better articulate their growth plans and value creation strategies to investors, he said.
The aim is to foster greater awareness among boards that market perception is an important component of corporate strategy, he said.
Launched under the Capital Market Masterplan 2026-2030, it targets the country’s top 88 listed companies, which account for about 80 per cent of Bursa Malaysia’s market capitalisation, Mohammad Faiz said.
“Six of the top 88 listed companies did not have investor relations units, while four had no analyst coverage. This underscores the need for stronger communication between companies and the investment community,” he added.
While many boards traditionally view operational performance as their primary responsibility, they should also recognise the importance of how investors assess the company’s prospects and long-term value creation efforts, Mohammad Faiz said.
He also said boards must continually evaluate how disruption, technological change and evolving business models could affect their companies’ future competitiveness and value-creation potential.
“Malaysia’s RM2 trillion equity market recorded annual growth of only 2.3 per cent over the past decade, despite the country’s economic growth averaging above five per cent,” he said.
It was against this backdrop that the programme was introduced, he said.
Malaysia’s market capitalisation currently stands at RM4.3 trillion, with a target of between RM5.8 trillion and RM6.3 trillion by 2030 under the Capital Market Masterplan.
Meanwhile, Permodalan Nasional Bhd acting president and group chief executive Datuk Rizal Rickman Ramli said companies should establish clear long-term value creation plans and focus on metrics that directly drive shareholder returns.
Boards should set measurable targets, particularly in areas such as return on equity, and provide regular updates to investors.
“We want to see companies establish a three-year target tied to shareholder value,” he said.
Rizal Rickman said companies should also exercise greater discipline in capital allocation and ensure management incentives are aligned with long-term performance outcomes.
While Malaysian-listed companies generally perform comparably with regional peers in terms of margins and leverage, their capital productivity remains an area requiring improvement, he said.
The panel discussion also highlighted the need for boards to give greater attention to strategic issues such as innovation, research and development, digital transformation and artificial intelligence, rather than focusing predominantly on operational matters.
— BERNAMA