by SHAHEERA AZNAM SHAH/pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

KUB Malaysia Bhd and C.I Holdings Bhd (CI Holdings) have been recognised by Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG) under the MSWG-Asean Corporate Governance Awards 2019.

KUB Malaysia was ranked first in the Corporate Governance (CG) Disclosure (Market Capitalisation between RM100 million to RM300 million) while CI Holdings get the Long Term Value Creation category.

The MSWG has undertaken corporate governance assessments on all Malaysian public-listed companies (PLCs), excluding companies listed on the LEAP Market as well as PN17 and GN3 companies.

The assessment was conducted through the ASEAN CG Scorecard methodology, evaluating 866 companies.

MSWG CEO Devanesan Evanson said the ASEAN CG Scorecard adopts the organisation for economic cooperation and development (OECD) Principles of corporate governance as the main benchmark which covers the five areas – rights of shareholders, the equitable treatment of shareholders, the role of stakeholders, disclosure and transparency and responsibilities of the board.

According to Evanson, the assessment was conducted based on the companies’ latest annual reports, corporate governance reports and sustainability reports published before July 31, 2019, including public announcements on Bursa Malaysia as well as other publicly available information such as media and analysts’ reports.

“It is encouraging to see the average score among PLCs have progressed significantly over the years, from 62.98 points in 2015 to 74.84 points in 2019.

“Average score for the top 100-PLCs and bottom 100-PLCs, based on ranking, has also improved from 80.41 points in 2015 to 98.40 points in 2019 and from 49.81 points in 2015 to 58.75 points in 2019, respectively.

“The results reflect the commitment of PLCs to improve their corporate governance practices, policies, and disclosures,” he said.

Evanson added that the results of the assessment this year demonstrate MSWG’s resolute advocacy efforts in encouraging companies to embrace good corporate governance practices.

“The Securities Commission’s Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG), CG Monitor and Bursa Malaysia’s Listing Requirements have also contributed towards the improved corporate governance ecosystem.

“Collectively, the improved corporate governance has increased investor confidence in the Malaysian capital market,” he said.

KUB, which mainly engages in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business, reported a favourable performance in its financial year 2020 (FY20), recovering from the losses it made last year.

The conglomerate recorded a net profit RM28.45 million in its second quarter ended June 2020 recently against a net loss of RM9.15 million in the same quarter last year, while its revenue declined 38.44% to RM62.31 million from RM101.22 million.

KUB is currently in a restructuring mode, disposing of its non-core assets while strengthening its core asset, the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business, through new investment.

Meanwhile, CI Holdings, which is mainly engaging in packaging edible oil, saw an encouraging bottom line in 4Q ended June 2020, doubling to RM7.99 million from RM3.16 million.

Its revenue during the quarter jumped 72% to RM744.69 million compared to RM432.81 million a year ago.