More than 150 senior investor relations professionals from across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand attended this year’s IR Magazine Forum & Awards – South East Asia.
The event, held in person for the first time since 2019, kicked off with a forum in which investors, analysts and heads of IR from small, mid and large-cap companies came together to discuss key issues relating to IR, corporate governance and shareholder needs.
One of the forum sessions looked at the evolution of ESG data and disclosure in South East Asia. After the panel, IR Magazine spoke to Joshua Lee, portfolio manager at Lombard Odier Group.
He explained how there have been a lot of changes within the capital markets in the region since the outbreak of Covid-19. ‘I think one thing that has really changed is the way we and IROs communicate with investors,’ he said.
‘Communication is still essential, but the mode is different. There’s hybrid and there are more emails as well. And in-person events still go on, but I think budgets will be hugely cut from the sell side because of all these new modes of communication.’
During his panel session, Lee said the focus was on how important ESG is for the investment community. ‘ESG is here to stay. Sustainability is here to stay, no one can deny that: demand will continue to increase from here,’ he said.
To find out more about the IR Magazine Forum & Awards – South East Asia 2023, please click here.
