KUALA LUMPUR: The Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group (MSWG) has recognised British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Berhad (BAT Malaysia) for its excellence in corporate governance.
BAT Malaysia received the Corporate Governance Disclosure Excellence Award as well as the Consumer Products and Industry Excellence Award for Consumer Products and Services.
Devanesan Evanson, MSWG's chief executive officer, said that BAT Malaysia not only builds trust with investors and the community by upholding high standards of corporate governance, but its employees also benefit from working for a company whose corporate reputation fosters a culture of integrity.
This, in turn, leads to a positive performing and sustainable business.
The ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard was used to assess how well 851 corporations followed excellent corporate governance practises.
Representatives from professional organisations, corporate governance experts, academicians, financial professionals and individuals familiar with the Malaysian equities market selected BAT Malaysia as the winner for both prizes.
The assessment was also based on annual reports, corporate governance reports and sustainability reports for the fiscal years ending April 30, 2019 and March 31, 2020.
Both awards reflect BAT Malaysia's continuous use of comprehensive compliance initiatives, openness and adherence to its Standards of Business Conduct.
BAT Malaysia's managing director, Nedal Salem, commented, "I'm very proud that MSWG has recognised BAT Malaysia with these awards. As part of our A Better Tomorrow purpose, we strive for excellence in corporate governance.
"Conducting our business with honesty, integrity and transparency is not only the right thing to do, but it is also critical to the continuing development of a business that is responsible, successful and sustainable in the long term."