KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd has announced enhancements to the Main and ACE Market Listing Requirements, aimed at further strengthening board independence, quality and diversity.
The exchange operator said that to promote board quality and strengthen board independence, the enhanced Listing Requirements now limits the tenure of an independent director to not more than a cumulative tenure of 12 years in a listed issuer and its group of corporations.
“All long-serving independent directors impacted by this enhancement must resign or be redesignated as non-independent directors by June 1, 2023,“ Bursa Malaysia said in a statement yesterday.
It said another key enhancement is the requirement for listed issuers (Public Listed Companies – PLCs) with a market capitalisation of RM2 billion as at Dec 31, 2021, to appoint at least one woman director on their boards by Sept 1, 2022, as announced by the Minister of Finance Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz in his Budget 2022 speech on Oct 29, 2021.
For the remaining PLCs, it said, the requirement must be complied with by June 1, 2023.
Additionally, the exchange introduces a new rule which requires PLCs to have in place a fit and proper policy that addresses board quality and integrity for the appointment and re-election of directors across the PLC group, which must be published on the PLCs’ websites, starting from July 1, 2022.
“The PLCs are also required to disclose the application of their fit and proper policy in the nomination and election of their directors in their annual reports.
“This seeks to improve the overall quality of directors and promote greater transparency on the criteria for board appointments.
Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift said these amendments will serve as an impetus for PLCs to refresh their board composition, with a greater focus on board quality, diversity and independence, that will promote board dynamism ultimately.
More information on the amended Main Market Listing Requirements is available at Bursa Malaysia’s website. – Bernama