DATUK LEE CHEE LEONG Second Deputy Finance Minister

“Sustainability policies and practices need to be included as an essential element in any business model.”

KUALA LUMPUR: Sustainable policies and practices should be the key elements in every local business model in order to attract more sustainable investments.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Lee Chee Leong said investments at domestic and foreign levels showed sustained growth as investors were sensitive to sustainability factors.

“Investors today are not just evaluating the financial aspects of an organisation when deciding to invest, but are also looking at various other aspects, including non-finance factors such as corporate stability.

“Investors place greater importance on sustainability aspects, including positive social governance as well as financial performance that can be translated into value.

“Therefore, sustainability policies and practices need to be included as an essential element in any business model,” he said at the Malaysian Sustainable and Certified Chartered Accountants Association (ACCA MaSRA) Awards 2017, here, yesterday.

Also present were deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, Bursa Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan and ACCA Malaysia advisory committee president Datuk Merina Abdul Tahir.

Media Prima Bhd (MPB) group chief financial officer Farnida Ngah represented MPB one of the listed companies in ACCA MaSRA 2017.

ACCA MaSRA 2017 saw participation of 59 public-listed companies, compared with 49 in 2016.

Sime Darby Bhd emerged the overall winner for last year, after having won the award for two consecutive years.