KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Finance (MoF) will not cancel public-private partnership (PPP) projects awarded through direct negotiations by the previous Barisan Nasional administration, particularly land swap deals, but will introduce a “clean” PPP model in line with its policy to conduct open tenders.

In a review process, the MoF found that 14 out of 17 PPP projects were directly negotiated.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s monetary sector is stable although there are fiscal challenges of high debt and liabilities resulted from the excesses from the previous government, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“Our banking sector is well-capitalised with low numbers of non-performing loans while the capital market remains solid with stable capital and high liquidity.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) yesterday introduced the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia (ICDM), a dedicated body established to enhance the professionalism and effectiveness of corporate directors in the country.

The main objective of the new institute, launched by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, is to promote excellence, integrity and the highest level of skills and professional competence among Malaysian corporate directors, the SC said in a statement.

THE Institute of Corporate Directors (ICDM), a dedicated body set up to enhance the professionalism and effectiveness of corporate directors in the country, was officially launched last Monday.

Led by Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar as chairman and Michele Kythe Lim as president/CEO, ICDM will, among other things, provide learning and development via training programmes, board and director effectiveness evaluation, director-sourcing services and research and advocacy.

The following is an excerpt from the interview with Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, Chairman of Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia (ICDM):

The Edge: Tan Sri, you were chairman of the SC for six years before you retired in March 2012, so you’re in a good position to speak. You’ve seen the momentum of corporate governance (CG) build up. How different are the duties/responsibilities of a director today compared with, say, 10 years ago? How do you see these evolving, especially with many companies getting into digitisation and complex, innovative technologies?

In the world of corporate governance, boardroom diversity is a topic that receives considerable attention.

A diverse boardroom helps businesses stay relevant with customers in an increasingly global and complex environment. Having a rich melting pot of talent and perspectives in the boardroom also leads to better decision making.

But while much has been made of gender diversity in recent times, age diversity is something that has escaped much of the spotlight.