53 / 206
FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Bursa Malaysia
•
Annual Report 2014
41
MOVING FORWARD
OUTLOOK OPTIMISTIC DESPITE CHALLENGING 2015
2015 is shaping up to be another challenging year as global markets have
remained volatile. We believe that we will continue to see challenges in the form
of pressure on commodity prices and volatility in currency prices. However, we
remain confident that the initiatives that we have undertaken and planned will
enable us to sustain the momentum we have created for ourselves.
Upward-trending PATAMI and operating revenue coupled with managed
operating expenses over the past six years are evidence that the building blocks
and processes we have put in place have served us well despite challenging
operating conditions. With strong fundamentals in place, we believe that we will
be able to face 2015 with similarly optimistic expectations.
Aside from the global economy, we also face challenges in the form of greater
competition from other exchanges in the region and in navigating changing
regulatory requirements. However, we believe that Malaysia’s track record of
being a resilient market due to its strength in investor protection and robust
corporate governance framework will continue to be a draw for investors, hence
supporting the growth agenda whilst maintaining market confidence and integrity.
CEO’S MESSAGE AND MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
TAKING THE NEXT STEP IN REALISING SHAREHOLDER VALUE
We take continuous steps to transform our latent potential into value for our
stakeholders. This can be seen from our healthy dividend yield of 6.7% in 2014 and
other key financial ratios. Our return to shareholders has been trending in the right
direction since 2008. Return on Equity improved to 25.4% in 2014 from 20.7% in
2013.
The additional resources we have put in place over the last few years which
include human capital and infrastructure development, and the streamlining of
processes, will continue to enhance our returns as an exchange operator to our
shareholders, as we keep our focus trained on our role as a market regulator.
We are confident that we have most of the components in place necessary for us
to become ASEAN’s Multinational Marketplace, and it is now a matter of reaching
out to the investing community to determine how we can best serve their needs.
At the same time, we are aware that Bursa Malaysia plays a unique role in serving
as a benchmark for other PLCs. Indeed, our theme for action in 2015 is “Open
Skies, Driving Sustainability”, which puts governance and sustainability within a
newly integrated AEC at the centre of our activities.
APPRECIATION
Over the last few years, we have worked hard to transform Bursa Malaysia into
an entity that is capable of competing with leading exchanges in the region, but
our work is not yet complete. Now is the time for us to show that we are not an
exchange with mere potential, but an exchange capable of delivering value to all
stakeholders, from our shareholders to the general public.
On behalf of Bursa Malaysia’s management, I would like to express our thanks
and appreciation to all our stakeholders who have worked hard together with us
to put the Exchange in our current enviable position. I would like to make special
mention of appreciation to the staff of Bursa Malaysia without whom our plans
would have remained just that: plans. Execution is everything, and I believe that
the progress we have made over the past few years is testament to the success
of their execution.
Nonetheless, I would like to take this opportunity to remind all of us that the
hard work has only just begun. The challenges we will face in the new ASEAN
landscape will be unlike anything that we have experienced before, and there will
be difficult obstacles ahead of us. But with challenges come opportunity, and I
relish the opportunities that will doubtless be presented to us.
I am hopeful that we will continue to enjoy the support of our many stakeholders
even as we chart our way through this heretofore new territory and I look forward
to the years to come.
GROWING REVENUE AND PROFITS; MANAGED EXPENSES
Operating Revenue (RM million)
Operating Expenses (RM million)
PATAMI (RM million)
ROE
2008 2009*
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
98.6
13
104.4
14
111.9
13
143.1
17
150.6
18
173.1
21
198.2
25
388.5
209.2
439.8
229.4
471.3
232.0
381.5
212.0
331.3
196.6
302.5
184.2
297.8
181.9
* PATAMI for 2009 excludes the gain on disposal of a subsidiary.