ESG criteria key in attracting foreign investors

“Some of our listed companies have seen their share prices perform poorly due to the so-called ESG discount. “They are trading lower than they ought to be and have been despite their end products being in demand. “That gap between where they are and where they ought to be is the discount,” said Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd’s (MIDF) group managing director Datuk Charon Wardini Mokhzani.(File pic)

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia could see an improvement in international investor interest if it is able to address the “social” criteria in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements.

Notably, local companies in certain sectors have come under the spotlight recently on allegations of forced labour.