KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd has announced enhanced requirements for Main and ACE Market listings to further strengthen board independence, quality and diversity.

       The enhanced listing requirements now limits the tenure of an independent director to not more than a cumulative 12 years in a listed issuer and its group of corporations, the regulator said in a statement.

       “All long serving independent directors impacted by this enhancement must resign or be redesignated as non independent directors by June 1, 2023,” it said.

       Another key enhancement is the requirement for listed issuers (PLC) with a market cap of RM2bil as at Dec 31, 2021 to appoint at least one woman director on their boards by Sept 1, 2022, as announced by the Finance Minister Budget 2022. For the remaining PLCs, the requirement must be complied with by June 1, 2023.

       Additionally, the bourse had introduced a new rule which requires PLCs to have in place a fit and proper policy that addresses board quality and integrity for the appointment and re-election of directors across the PLC group, which must be published on the PLCs’ websites, starting from July 1, 2022.

       PLCs are also required to disclose the application of the PLCs’ fit and proper policy in the nomination and election of their directors in their annual reports. This seeks to improve the overall quality of directors and promote greater transparency on the criteria for board appointments.