CEO’S MESSAGE
AND MANAGEMENT
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT
42
Bursa Malaysia •
Annual Report 2015
We also believe that the Malaysian market has a number of features
attractive to investors. For instance, Bursa Malaysia is a high dividend-
yielding market and is a largely low-Beta, defensive market supported by
domestic institutions that invest based on fundamentals. These features
make Bursa Malaysia particularly attractive during this time of volatility, as
does our excellent corporate governance track record.
Our immediate plans will also see us undertaking a number of initiatives to
enhance market participation, particularly from both domestic and foreign
funds. We aim to promote and profile selected sectors, industries and SMEs
to local funds through tailored seminars as well as to ethical investments in
line with our sustainability agenda to create a dynamic ecosystem for SRI
funds and investors. We will also conduct engagements with investors in
both traditional and non-traditional foreign markets to promote our PLCs.
We will also continue to improve our engagements with various SME bodies
while building on the various public and private platforms that support local
SMEs and the National Key Economic Areas (“NKEA”) agenda.
The Exchange also intends to follow through on its initiatives in the past
years to further strengthen sustainability in our marketplace. With the initial
framework in place, our next step is to seek greater participation from
the PLCs and we will conduct advocacy sessions for our PLCs’ Board of
Directors, CEOs and key management to provide greater guidance to them.
PROTECTING SHAREHOLDER VALUE
We would like to reiterate our commitment to protecting shareholder
value even during these times of adversity. The challenges confronting
our markets are not unassailable, and the infrastructures we have put in
place over the last few years will ensure that we continue to reward our
shareholders appropriately.
The journey that we have set for ourselves is a transformation over the
long term and we are thus far on track. While we concede that we may
have to make adjustments in confronting immediate risks, we are still well
on our way to becoming an HPO, complete with a diverse and resilient
marketplace with sustainability at its core.
APPRECIATION
Bursa Malaysia is today among the leading stock exchanges in the region
and we continue to lead the pack in key areas including Islamic finance and
on matters of sustainability. We must build on the momentum that we have
created for ourselves and leverage on our early successes to make us a
relevant source of value for all our stakeholders, both domestic and foreign.
On behalf of Bursa Malaysia’s Management, I would like to thank our
stakeholders who have supported and collaborated with us to help make
Bursa Malaysia what it is today. We would like to thank our staff who have
worked tirelessly and with complete dedication to realise the vision that we
have set for ourselves, and I would like to take this opportunity to remind
them that we are very close to reaching our goals.
Yet we must remain vigilant as the volatility of market conditions in the early
part of 2016 has shown us that economic conditions can change at any time,
and our strategy to further expand our presence will expose us to greater
risk scenarios. However, I believe that together, we will find no challenge
insurmountable and I hope that we will continue to receive the support of
our stakeholders as we embark on the final leg of our transformation into
becoming ASEAN’s Multinational Marketplace.
Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan
Chief Executive Officer