The Edge Centurion Club Awards 2026

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Salutations

Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato' Seri Tong Kooi Ong,
Chairman of The Edge Media Group,

Yang Berbahagia Dato' Ho Kay Tat,
Publisher & Group Chief Executive Officer of the The Edge Media Group

Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Fad’l Mohamed
Chief Executive Officer of Bursa

Winners of the awards

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlement

Asssalamualaikum warrahmatullahi wabarakatuh, Salam Malaysia MADANI,

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,

1. Thank you to The Edge for the kind invitation to join you this evening, and my congratulations to all the companies being honoured tonight.
   
   
2. We meet at a time when Malaysia's economy continues to show resilience. The latest advance estimate showed the economy expanded by 5.8 percent in the second quarter of 2026, improving from 5.4 percent in the first quarter, above the 5.2 percent recorded for both 2024 and 2025. This is encouraging not only for the number itself, but for the environment in which it was achieved: conflict in the Middle East, renewed trade tensions, energy uncertainty and greater policy volatility. Malaysia's performance did not happen by accident.
   
   
3. Just over three years ago, the Prime Minister launched Ekonomi MADANI as the framework for Malaysia's medium-term trajectory: to raise the ceiling, raise the floor, and restore confidence through good governance. A higher ceiling without a stronger floor will not produce shared prosperity. A stronger floor without a higher ceiling will not be sustainable. And neither endures without trust and integrity.
   
   
4. Since then, the Government has worked to strengthen fiscal responsibility, improve policy clarity and build confidence in Malaysia as a place to invest and grow because growth follows confidence, and confidence follows credibility. But Government does not create growth alone; it creates the conditions for growth. It is companies that invest, innovate, hire and deliver performance. That is why Malaysia's growth belongs also to Corporate Malaysia, from our largest listed groups to the growing companies in this room tonight.
   
   
5. Because Ekonomi MADANI places sustainability at the heart of national development, we see Corporate Malaysia as a living forest: diverse, interdependent, and in constant need of care. Large companies provide the height and anchoring strength. SMEs seed new growth. And between them is a vital layer that has taken root, proven its resilience, and is now ready to reach higher.
   
   
6. The Centurion companies belong to this growing canopy. You are not start-ups still finding your footing, nor the largest giants already familiar to every investor. You are companies between RM100 million and RM1 billion in market capitalisation, with track records established and ambitions rising. This layer matters greatly. Small- and mid-cap companies bring dynamism and excitement to the market, as investors look to them in search of tomorrow's leaders and the potential for meaningful growth in value.
   
   
7. The companies recognised tonight have already distinguished themselves through strong performance. But recognition should not mark the end of ambition. There are still new markets to enter, new capabilities to build, and greater heights to reach. Investors’ expectations are high, and so are the country’s ambitions, because Malaysia needs more companies capable of progressing from promising enterprises into national champions, and eventually regional leaders.
   
   
8. This journey is not measured only by the expansion of operations or earnings. It should also be reflected in stronger valuations, deeper institutional participation and greater confidence among investors. That is the scale of ambition behind the Capital Market Masterplan 2026 to 2030: to grow Malaysia's capital market from RM4.3 trillion in 2025 to at least RM5.8 trillion by 2030, with growth built across every tier at once, from established market leaders to the thousands of mid-tier companies taking their first steps towards public capital. Companies in this room sit between those two ends: past the first step, and still climbing.
   
   
9. As Centurion companies continue that climb, initiatives such as Bursa RISE+ and MY Value Up point to what the market increasingly rewards. RISE+ helps bring deserving companies into sharper focus. Better visibility can support fairer valuations and a lower cost of capital, especially for companies whose story is not well understood by the market. MY Value Up goes further by encouraging listed companies to articulate clearer growth strategies, measurable targets and disciplined capital-allocation priorities, while strengthening disclosure and investor engagement. Both reflect the same principle: higher valuation must be earned through stronger fundamentals, not promotion alone.
   
   
10. That pursuit of growth must be matched by sound governance and ethical practice. Investors increasingly look beyond the bottom line to how a company allocates capital, treats its people and manages risk across a full cycle.
    
    
11. These are also the qualities recognised tonight. The Edge Centurion Club Awards honour companies for profit growth, return on equity and returns to shareholders over a sustained period, measures that speak to performance, resilience and the ability to create lasting value. I am also pleased that a new Sustainability Award has been introduced this year, because true sustainability is not a box-ticking exercise. It is what makes a business durable, investable and worthy of long-term confidence.

Ladies and gentlemen,

12. Tonight, there are 501 companies in the Centurion Club, and 36 of them are the very best and being honoured among them. That is proof Malaysia's living forest is growing stronger, and it points to the future we must build: more companies with deep roots and higher ambitions, turning capital into capability, capability into productivity, and productivity into better jobs and higher incomes for Malaysians.
    
    
13. To all the winners, congratulations. Your success is your own, earned through discipline, enterprise and perseverance. But it is also part of a larger national story: a Malaysian economy growing not from one towering tree alone, but from a richer, stronger Corporate Malaysia.
    
    
14. May the recognition tonight encourage you to keep reaching higher, and may your growth help Malaysia to do the same.

Thank you.