This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 4, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, together with Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, Econpile Holdings Bhd and Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd (AZRB), took home the Best Company for Investor Relations award in their respective market capitalisation subcategories under the 9th annual MIRA Investor Relations Awards.

The awards were given out during a luncheon last Wednesday — themed “Investor Relations: Building Confidence, Sustaining Value” — organised by MIRA, which stands for Malaysian Investor Relations Association, the sole non-profit organisation for investor relations established under Bursa Malaysia.

The annual event seeks to promote good governance, advocate for greater transparency, and timely as well as fair disclosures among public listed companies on the local stock exchange. There were 25 awards given out under 10 categories, which were presented by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, Bursa Malaysia chairman Datuk Shireen Ann Zaharah Muhiudeen and Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, MIRA said in a statement.

CIMB Group won its award under the large capitalisation subcategory, while Astro’s was from the medium capitalisation. Econpile represented the small capitalisation and AZRB was from the micro capitalisation.

There were also winners for the Best CEO for Investor Relations. They were: Malayan Banking Bhd’s (Maybank) Datuk Abdul Farid Alis (large capitalisation), AirAsia Group Bhd’s Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (medium capitalisation), Gabungan AQRS Bhd’s Datuk Azizan Jaafar (small capitalisation) and Superlon Holdings Bhd’s Jessica H Liu (micro capitalisation). As for the Best CFO (chief financial officer) for Investor Relations, Top Glove Corp Bhd’s Lim Cheong Guan took home the win under the large capitalisation subcategory, with Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd’s Syed Hizam Alsagoff under the medium capitalisation category. Econpile’s Bin Lay Thiam was the winner among the small capitalisation companies, while AWC Bhd’s Richard Voon was from micro capitalisation.

For Best Investor Relations Professional, the winners were: DiGi.Com Bhd’s Winnie Ooi Guat Suan (large capitalisation), Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd’s Juliana Lo Beng Liew (medium capitalisation), Econpile’s The Kun Ann (small capitalisation) and Superlon’s Steven Ong Cheng San (micro capitalisation).

Axiata Group Bhd, meanwhile, was named the winner of the Best Investor Relations Website (large capitalisation), together with AirAsia (medium capitalisation), Media Prima Bhd (small capitalisation) and AZRB (micro capitalisation).

Among the newly listed last year, Revenue Group Bhd took home the Best Investor Relations for an initial public offering company in 2018.

MIRA also recognised Hartalega Holdings Bhd as the company with the Best Knowledge & Insights of Investor Relations Team, while Astro has the Most Improved Service from Investor Relations Team, with Maybank getting the award for Quality of Annual Reports/Formal Disclosure. Hong Leong Bank Bhd, meanwhile, was recognised for Quality of One-on-One Meetings.

“This year, we have an even more robust process in filtering down the shortlist and winners. KPMG had put together focus groups with stakeholders to fine tune the factors to be included in the scoring system. Based on this feedback, recipients were scored based on a weighted 70:30 split between votes and diagnostic assessment by KPMG.

“Voting forms were sent to 1,500 recipients comprising analysts, brokers and investors to generate responses. As the voting pool was increased this year, nominations came from a wider base of companies from different sectors and market capitalisation. It is very encouraging to see more micro-cap public limited companies being nominated,” MIRA chairman Steven Tan said.

Tan noted that as the global business environment evolves at an intense pace with new socio-economic and political developments, investors now demand more updated information on company’s strategic directions and financial indicators.

They also want to know more about operational matters and governance issues, and regular, consistent and proactive engagements with stakeholders are a prerequisite to reinforce trust and confidence in a company’s management, he said.

“These engagements are crucial and also allow for two-way discussions to listen to opinions and views from stakeholders. Hence, it is pertinent that listed companies continue to strengthen their investor relations capabilities to achieve fair valuation for their companies,” he added.