SC: More women are independent directors at Plcs
PETALING JAYA: More women were appointed as independent directors of Malaysian public listed companies (Plcs) in 2022, according to the Securities Commission’s (SC) Corporate Governance Monitor 2022 report.
About 34% of individuals appointed to boards of Plcs in 2022 were women, compared with 23% in 2021.
“Eighty per cent of the women directors appointed were for the position of independent directors, allaying concerns that the mandatory rule of having at least one woman director on the board would lead to the appointment of related individuals such as family members,” said SC in a statement.
Also, Plcs are setting and committing to emission reduction targets including achieving carbon-neutrality by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
This is based on the SC’s review of 50 Plcs that comprise, among others, large Plcs operating in the energy, plantation, and transportation and logistics sectors.
More than half of the Plcs are also disclosing emission-related data even before the Bursa Malaysia listing requirements made the disclosure of such information mandatory.
All Plcs are required to disclose emission-related data in annual reports for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024 and onwards.
However, the disclosure of senior management remuneration remains low.
SC said while overall adoption of the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance is encouraging and there were improvements in the quality of disclosures for some of the best practices, there were areas that could have been improved further.
“In particular, the adoption of practices related to disclosure of senior management remuneration remained disappointingly low, with slight improvement in 2022.
“Only 22% (2021: 21%) of Plcs disclosed senior management remuneration in bands of RM50,000 or by the exact amount,” it said.
It was also pointed out that stakeholders, notably institutional investors, have continued to advocate for greater transparency and alignment between pay and performance, including the Institutional Investors Council Malaysia, as highlighted in its latest revision of the Malaysian Code for Institutional Investors.
The SC and Bursa will be undertaking a deeper review on this.
The report also noted that Plcs continue to take proactive steps to address sustainability risks and opportunities.
This includes ensuring that the board and senior management undergo regular training to stay abreast of sustainability issues relevant to the company, with 58% of the Plcs having either a dedicated committee or a role in senior management in charge of the strategic management of sustainability for the company.
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