BURSA MALAYSIA CHIEF URGES FIRMS TO ADHERE TO HIGH LEVEL OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (Bernama) -- Companies need to adhere to a high level
of corporate governance and transparency to project itself as attractive and
quality investments to the public, said Bursa Malaysia (Malaysia Exchange) Bhd
chief executive officer Yusli Mohamed Yusoff.

He said there were concerns over the level of transparency and governance in
some of the companies, which could somehow affect smaller shareholders' right
and interest.

"That is why we have issued consultative papers to improve the level of
transparency and disclosure at listed companies," he told reporters after the
launching of Investors Expo 2010 here Saturday.

Deputy Finance Minister, Donald Lim Siang Chai, launched the expo.

Yusli said in some cases, there had been insufficient responsibility
demonstrated by the management and major shareholders which ignored the interest
of the smaller investors.

He said the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia were serious and would
not let quality been compromised by irresponsible major shareholders or
management.

"It is unfortunate because some companies are well-run by highly responsbile
board and management but unfortunatey there will always be cases of
irresponsible behaviour and this will tend to create the need for more rules,"
he said.

He said investors would look at the fundamentals of a company before
investing and they would look at the information to make sure they were accurate
and timely.

"In the long run, this will create a much more responsible people and public
listed entities in our market that will regain the confidence of retail
investors in Malaysia as well as neighbouring markets," he said.

-- BERNAMA