FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Bursa Malaysia
•
Annual Report 2014
19
CHAIRMAN’S LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS
Despite posting a record high of 1,892.65 points in July and a historical high of 7.67 billion shares traded in
August 2014, the FBM KLCI fell to multi-month lows in December dragged down by investor concerns over
earnings growth of listed issuers and plunging oil prices. The benchmark index closed 2014 at 1,761.25
points, down 6% from 2013.
The silver lining amidst the gloom is that the Exchange remains operationally sound and was, for the third
consecutive year, the largest fund raising destination in ASEAN with a total of RM24.3 billion raised through
IPOs and secondary market.
More importantly, we have continued to create shareholder value and grow shareholder returns, thanks to
our continued efforts to develop the Malaysian capital market and our focus on financial discipline.
BUILDING SHAREHOLDER VALUE IN 2014
We spent the three years prior to 2014 increasing our capacity as a stock exchange and delivering on
our four strategic focus areas: creating a more facilitative trading environment, providing more tradable
alternatives, reshaping our market structure and framework, and better integrating our activities with the
regional marketplace.
With the completion of our core system refresh in 2013, we focused on expanding our reach and capabilities
in the past year to make full use of our new capacity. This is in line with our vision to create long-term
shareholder value by nurturing a thriving and sustainable exchange in the years to come.
Meanwhile, we continued to turn in a strong set of results in 2014 as operating revenue rose by 7% and
PATAMI by 15%.
As part of our continuing commitment to our shareholders, we have in place a policy to pay a dividend of at
least 75% of our PATAMI. Our actual dividend pay out has consistently exceeded this threshold as we have
paid out more than 90% of PATAMI to our shareholders every financial year since listing.
The Board is pleased to announce that we have recommended a final dividend payment of 18 sen per
share, which brings the total dividend declared for FY2014 to 54 sen per share. This represents a dividend
yield of 6.7% or about 92% of our FY2014 PATAMI (excluding the special dividend payment).
REMAINING COMMITTED TO GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The need for clear and consistent regulation and strong oversight of the market has become more
important due to the increasing interconnection with regional and global markets. Our challenge as the
Malaysian exchange operator and front line regulator is to manage the balance between ensuring fair and
orderly markets and driving innovation within our capital market.
Towards this end, we launched the Environmental, Social and Governance Index (ESG Index) in December
2014, which measures and creates greater visibility of our PLCs’ ESG practices. The new index places
the Exchange closer to best international practices, while at the same time providing greater appeal for
investors who make assessments based on sustainability.
The ESG Index is a good example of how we are approaching corporate governance through the introduction
of measures that will simultaneously strengthen our regulatory oversight while broadening our investor
appeal.
WE HAVE
CONTINUED
TO CREATE
SHAREHOLDER
VALUE AND GROW
SHAREHOLDER
RETURNS,
thanks to our continued
efforts to develop the
Malaysian capital market
and our focus on financial
discipline.