Malaysia needs stronger climate resilience data to give foreign investors greater confidence in the country’s ability to withstand climate-related risks, said Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) Executive Chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi.
He said climate resilience was likely to become an increasingly important consideration as countries compete for foreign direct investment (FDI), particularly as global asset owners assess their exposure to climate-related risks.
“In the competition to attract FDI, a country’s climate resilience will be a key factor. We need to identify the data that asset owners want to see to convince them that investments in Malaysia are safe,” he said in his keynote address at the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) Conference: Journey Towards Carbon Net Zero 2026 in Kuala Lumpur today.
JC3, established by Bank Negara Malaysia and the SC in 2019, is holding the two-day conference under the theme “Building Climate and Nature Resilience for People and Businesses”.
Mohammad Faiz said Malaysia was generally viewed as having good climate resilience but stronger data was needed to support that assessment.
“The good news is that in international rankings, we are generally seen as a fairly resilient country, ranking second after Singapore in ASEAN. However, we need more data to prove it,” he said.
He said strengthening climate resilience was among the SC’s priorities under the Capital Market Masterplan 2026-2030, with sustainability disclosures playing an increasingly important role in helping investors assess whether companies are prepared for future climate-related risks.
“If financial statements are considered a quarterly health check for a company, sustainability disclosures are the stress test that shows the resilience and strength of a company for the future,” he said.
Mohammad Faiz also said the credibility of such disclosures depended on having skilled sustainability professionals, which was why the SC supported the establishment of the Association of Sustainability Professionals. Further details on the association will be announced soon.
He said climate change should not be viewed solely as an environmental issue as its impact could extend to economic and financial stability.
“Climate risk is not just an environmental issue, but also a national and economic issue,” he said.
