MALAYSIA INK MOU WITH THAI AND INDONESIAN BOURSES TO SET UP ASEAN ESG ECOSYSTEM

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia Bhd (Bursa Malaysia) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) to collectively explore establishing an inter-regional environmental, social, and governance-linked ecosystem to drive business value creation while fostering sustainable development across Asean.

The MoU was signed by Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, IDX president director Iman Rachman and SET president Pakorn Peetathawatchai on the sidelines of the 36th Asean Exchanges CEOs Meeting.

Muhamad Umar said the three exchanges aim to enhance cross-border cooperation and seize opportunities to harmonise ESG measures and ESG infrastructure that promotes sustainable business practices in Asean. 

“This MoU establishes the groundwork for similar collaborations with other interested exchanges in Asia and lays a solid foundation for engaging partners from the global north as well,” he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, Iman believes that collaboration is key to driving positive change in the region.

Pakorn said SET is committed to promoting ESG practices in the Thai capital market and the collaboration allows the three exchanges to co-create an interconnected ESG ecosystem and supports Asean markets integration as an asset class to attract international investors.

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The three exchanges will explore a range of initiatives, including but not limited to identifying critical components of the ESG infrastructure to support companies in pursuing decarbonisation and sustainability across their supply chains and establishing a “sandbox” environment designed to facilitate trade and create new business opportunities for corporations and their supply chains, including small and medium enterprises.

The three exchanges will also leverage expertise in ESG practices via workshops, training sessions, and knowledge-sharing programmes to support enhancing the ESG ecosystem.

The MoU signing builds on the recent commitment among Asean exchanges to standardise 10 governance metrics for each Asean stock exchange to apply as guiding disclosure principles among respective listed companies.

-- BERNAMA