Kuala Lumpur: The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is concerned about the ability of “Group 2” and “Group 3” listed companies to comply with the National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF).
As a result, said chairman Datuk Mohd Faiz Azmi, the SC will launch a toolkit to help companies transition from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) guidelines.
“Last year, we paid 100 accountants to do GRI (and) we’ll probably do that for another 50 this year. We are about to launch a toolkit that will take you from GRI to ISSB, and we are going to give it to everyone for free,” he said during the launch of PwC Malaysia’s inaugural Corporate Directors Survey 2024.
Mohd Faiz said Malaysia is keen to learn from Singapore, which has developed model accounts for ISSB based on the real estate sector. “It’s interesting, but we have sectors like construction, palm oil and finance – what about those? That is why we are now sending people to replicate what was done in Singapore.
He said many large listed companies have already started the process as they need to comply with other jurisdictions. “My concern is for the remaining (companies) next year,” he said.
Mohd Faiz stressed that the NSRF exemplifies Malaysia’s commitment to ensuring that the Malaysian corporate sector can provide consistent, comparable and reliable sustainability information.
He said the SC has launched an initiative called “PACE”, designed to help companies successfully adopt the NSRF, offering a wide range of resources, including policy guidance, emissions calculators and capacity-building programs. offers, to ensure that companies of all sizes can meet it. Sustainability reporting requirements.
Meanwhile, at the ASEAN level, the SC is promoting “MARS” (Mitigation, Adaptation, Resilience and Sustainability) and a regional taxonomy for adaptation in the carbon market.
He said the SC will chair the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF), a high-level grouping of capital markets regulators from all 10 ASEAN jurisdictions, which will enable it to formulate a regional capital markets plan for the next five years.
The ACMF includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
He said the Supreme Court is taking a very strong view that the carbon market should be regulated at the ASEAN level.
Following the launch of the NSRF last year, Malaysia joins more than 20 jurisdictions to implement reporting standards.
The NSRF will require listed companies on the Main and ACE markets of Bursa Malaysia, as well as large unlisted companies generating annual revenues of RM2 billion or more, to comply with the new sustainability reporting standards.
About 130 companies, or large listed issuers on Bursa Malaysia’s main market, will have to comply with international financial reporting standards S1 and S2 starting in 2025, which will focus on climate disclosures.
These companies have a significant impact on the capital markets and represent more than 80% of Bursa Malaysia’s market capitalization, with the first report due in 2026.
The remaining listed issuers on the Main Market, Group 2, will adopt the standards starting in 2026, followed by Group 3, which includes issuers listed on the ACE market as well as larger unlisted companies, in 2027. – Bernama
