The Board recognises Investor Relations (IR) as a key component of its Corporate Governance obligations. To meet the high expectations of the investment community, the Board has set up a dedicated IR unit headed by the Group Managing Director, and assisted by the Senior Group General Manager, Investor Relations, to provide direct access to top management in all matters pertaining to Investor Relations.
The Board’s primary objective is to provide all necessary information to the financial community such that shareholders, investors and potential investors can make an informed judgement on the fair value of the company’s shares consistently over time. By doing so, this will help to create demand for the company’s shares, and eventually optimise the company’s cost of capital. To enhance the effectiveness of the IR unit, the Board has instituted a comprehensive IR policy and programme with the following objectives, guidelines and mandates:-
As a publicly listed group, the Board is acutely aware of the need to always provide fair and equal access to information for all classes of investors. Investors play an important role in the successful growth and development of the Group. The Board therefore treats all classes of investors equally, notwithstanding the wide range of investors, many of whom have differing investment objectives and mandates. The IR unit caters to the demands of all types of investors, including retail and institutional investors, short and long-term investors, and domestic and foreign investors.
In line with IR best practices, all investors are provided with the relevant corporate information as and when requested. Price sensitive information is always disclosed to Bursa Malaysia before being disclosed to any individual investor. As far as is practicable, all requests for investor meetings are completely fulfilled. In addition, the IR unit actively reaches out to overseas investors on a regular basis to meet with those who are not able to travel to Malaysia.
A highly regarded and credible management team is one of the prerequisites for any investor. The Board recognises that trust and credibility can only be built up over time, and requires a long-term commitment to protecting investors’ interests. As such, the Board takes all necessary steps to ensure that critical investor issues are addressed promptly, effectively and accurately so that investors are always kept abreast of corporate developments and have a broad and clear understanding of strategic issues.
High quality relationships can only be nurtured by continuously engaging with the investment community, both through good times as well as during difficult periods. In this respect, the IR unit conducts regular scheduled dialogue sessions with investors to provide corporate updates, explain the group’s strategic direction, outline business prospects, and clarify financial issues. Should circumstances require, unscheduled dialogue sessions are occasionally arranged to explain and clarify any major corporate developments. Through these dialogue sessions, valuable feedback on various issues is also often obtained from the investment community.
Given the cyclical nature of the Group’s key business sectors, business prospects are not always necessarily positive. Given this reality, the Board believes in portraying an honest assessment of the group’s business prospects, even if prospects may not be particularly bright. In doing so, it is hoped that investors will obtain a realistic understanding of the business cycles, and will be in a better position to make informed investment decisions.