PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian economy has continued to show resilience and discover new strengths despite global economic and geopolitical instability, said Bursa Malaysia chairman Abdul Wahid Omar.
The government, he said, has displayed unwavering commitment to bolster the economy through sustained investments, building new areas of strength and streamlining policies to drive growth.
“As revealed in the recent mid-term review of the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), our real gross domestic product (GDP) growth is poised to grow at plus 5%-6% between 2021 and 2025, with private consumption shares and services-to-GDP ratio surpassing initial targets.
“One striking example of this collaborative effort is the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR), an ambitious shift towards one of the world’s fastest growing sectors.
He highlighted that global investments in renewable energy reached a record high of US$1.3 trillion (RM5.8 trillion) in 2022, a 70% increase from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
Wahid said this during the Invest Malaysia New York forum hosted by Bursa at New York, US yesterday.
The forum, which was officiated by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, attracted about 200 delegates namely foreign fixed income, equity, and private equity investors.
Themed “Regaining Malaysia’s Lead in Asia”, the forum focused on promoting Malaysia’s inherent strengths and objective to be a leading Asean economy via the Madani economic framework.
During his keynote address, Anwar emphasised how the Madani framework offers a clear roadmap to steer Malaysia’s economic growth and longer-term sustainability agenda.
He pointed out three essential pillars for the country’s economic recovery – the NETR, the 12MP mid-term review and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030.
Additionally, he expressed Malaysia’s aspiration to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Bursa going green
Meanwhile, Wahid acknowledged that companies need to adopt sustainable practices and goals to boost their competitiveness, resilience and attractiveness.
To this end, he said Bursa had introduced a sustainability framework in September last year to assist companies in adopting international reporting frameworks and standards.
The endeavour will be introduced in a phased approach starting on Dec 31.
Apart from this initiative, Bursa will also work with the London Stock Exchange to develop a centralised repository for environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) disclosures.
This platform will enable companies to disclose ESG data that can drive sustainable practices across industries.
Another mechanism that facilitates Malaysia’s energy transition is the recently introduced Bursa Carbon Exchange (BCX), the world’s first shariah-compliant voluntary carbon market exchange.
“The BCX is one of the key building blocks that will help finance some of the actions and investments required for decarbonisation.
“It successfully held its first carbon credits price discovery auction in March this year, and its trading is set to go live in early October,” he said.