Kenanga Group Wins 3 Awards At The UN Global Compact Malaysia-Brunei Sustainability Performance Awards
- Written by The Southern Cross
Ismail Harith Merican, Non-Independent Non-Executive Director of Kenanga Investment Bank
Datuk Wira Ismitz Matthew De Alwis, Chief Executive Officer of Kenanga Investors Berhad
Datuk Chay Wai Leong, Group Managing Director of Kenanga Investment Bank
Chuah Sze Phing, Group Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of Group Marketing and Communications
Norazian Binti Ahmad Tajuddin, Independent Non-Executive Director of Kenanga Investment Bank
Kanagaraj Lorenz, Independent Non-Executive Director of Kenanga Investment Bank
Faroze Nadar, Executive Director of United Nations Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei
Kenanga was awarded for:
- Partnership for the Goals Recognition
- Sustainable Product Recognition
- Sustainability Awareness and Employee Engagement Recognition
"We would like to thank United Nations Global Compact Network for the awards and ongoing support. They serve as an encouragement for the Group to further strengthen our commitment and excellence towards sustainability," commented Datuk Chay Wai Leong, Group Managing Director, Kenanga Group.
"We still have a long way to go and we look forward to continue advancing our sustainability strategy in the years to come - one that delivers prosperity together with meaningful outcome for people and planet," added Datuk Chay.
UNGCMYB's Executive Director, Faroze Nadar remarked, "We are proud to have accountable businesses as part of UNGC global network. Kenanga Group has done much to advance sustainability in their industry and we are pleased to recognise their efforts. Congratulations Kenanga and we hope this will inspire other financial institutions to be change agents for a sustainable nation".
The Group was awarded for its launch of sustainable products, which cover the Kenanga Sustainability Series - a suite of multi-asset class products rooted in sustainability considerations to advance long-term financial growth for investors and to generate social and financial value for surrounding communities.
In addition, the Group was also recognised for its effort for sustainability awareness and employee engagement. In accelerating group-wide capacity building, 95% of its workforce nationwide completed the UN Global Compact's introduction to sustainability e-learning modules, on top of desk-top quizzes. The Group also actively engage its employees through various sustainability awareness programmes such as #GreenAtHome, a month-long interactive event for the last 6 consecutive years to raise environmental awareness.
The Partnerships for Goals award was derived from the Group's collaborations with various organisations to drive the different aspects of sustainability.
"This year, as we focus on expanding financial inclusion through digitalisation, we joined hands with the Ant Group to develop Malaysia's first wealth SuperApp, which is engineered to provide access to the world of investing to millions of Malaysians," said Datuk Chay Wai Leong, Group Managing Director, Kenanga Group.
In terms of partnerships within the community, the Group drives the award-winning programme - the HumanKind Project - designed to empower social enterprises such Café Includes, a café run by people with disabilities under the Dialogue Includes All Academy, as well as, Silent Teddies Bakery an enterprise run by a group of talented hearing-impaired bakers.
With over a decade of support towards these social enterprises, the Group continues to raise funds, generate awareness, and volunteer assistance to bring about positive change and improvements to the under-privileged individuals and families.
Hashtag: #Kenanga
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About the UNGCMYB Sustainability Performance Awards
The Sustainability Performance Awards programme was initiated by UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei to recognise the continuous efforts of all its Participants and to inspire others to make sustainability an integral part of their business strategies. For more information on the awards, please visit https://www.ungcmyb.org/sustainability-performance-awards.
For more information on Kenanga Group, please visit www.kenanga.com.my.
About Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (15678-H)
Established for more than 45 years, Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (the Group) is a financial group in Malaysia with extensive experience in equity broking, investment banking, treasury, Islamic banking, listed derivatives, investment management, wealth management, structured lending and trade financing with strong foundations in regulatory compliance and risk management.
An innovative and established home-grown brand, the Group's digital ambition includes building a robust digital ecosystem that meets the needs of its clients and businesses. Some of its game-changing products include Malaysia's fully online digital stockbroking platform Rakuten Trade and a fully A.I. robo-advisor, Kenanga Digital Investing. The Group also launched Malaysia's first securities broking e-wallet, Kenanga Money, paved the way in AI-led Quan and algorithmic trading, kick-started a revolutionary supply chain financing solution for SMEs and made inroads into the digital assets space through its investment in Tokenize Technology (M) Sdn. Bhd.
The Group has garnered a host of awards and accolades reflecting its strong market position. It was awarded under the categories of Highest Returns to Shareholder Over Three Years, Best Overall Equities Participating Organisation by Bursa Malaysia, Best Overall Derivatives Trading Participant, Best Structured Warrant Issuer, Best Retail Equities Participating Organisation, Best Institutional Equities Participating Organisation Investment Bank; along with Best Trading Participant and Best Institutional Equities Participating Organisation and for Equity and Financial Derivatives for 18 consecutive years. The Group was also accorded the title of Best Institutional Derivatives Trading category by Bursa Malaysia.
The Group continues to be a regular and repeat recipient of distinguished industry accolades, such as the Lipper, Fundsupermart and Morningstar awards. Rakuten Trade, Malaysia's first fully digital securities broker in 2017 via a joint venture with Japanese fintech giant Rakuten Securities Inc was also named Malaysia's fintech company of the year in 2018 by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). For its continued efforts towards community outreach and employee volunteerism, the Group was awarded the coveted Company of the Year award for environmental and sustainability at Sustainability & CSR Malaysia Awards 2021. The Group is also a Participant of the United Nations Global Compact and adheres to its principle-based approach to responsible business.
Today, Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad is an award-winning leading independent investment bank in the country with a continuous commitment to driving collaboration, innovation, digitalisation, and sustainability in the marketplace.