PRIME MINISTER Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is set to deliver the keynote address and officially launch the ASEAN Simplified Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Disclosure Guide for SMEs in Supply Chains today.
The event is part of the ASEAN Investment Conference 2025: Panel Discussion and Exhibition, which is being held on the second day of the 12th ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (AFMGM) and related meetings at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).
The new ESG guide consolidates and simplifies various complex global and local ESG frameworks, aiming to enhance the accessibility of ESG data and information from SMEs.
Anwar, who also serves as Finance Minister, will chair the Investors’ Breakfast Roundtable on “Aligning ASEAN's Growth Agenda with Global Investment Trends”. Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan will also attend the roundtable.
In a separate event, Khazanah’s panel session, “Panel Discussion: Nation That Creates Through Catalysing Ecosystems”, will feature Amir Hamzah as a speaker.
Later, Amir Hamzah will join the ASEAN Investment Conference 2025 Ministerial Dialogue alongside Singapore’s Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance, Chee Hong Tat, and Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Finance, Thomas Djiwandono.
Amir Hamzah will also officiate the ASEAN Investment Challenge and the launch of Fractional Shares Trading, which aims to make share trading on Bursa Malaysia more accessible, affordable, and inclusive for retail investors, particularly young investors.
Today's agenda includes a Trilateral Meeting between China, Japan, and South Korea at 7.30 am, marking the second such meeting after a previous trade ministers' meeting in March in Seoul.
The three countries are committed to enhancing economic and trade cooperation to address ‘emerging challenges’, with their partnership gaining greater significance due to ongoing US tariffs and the global trade war.
The trio also agreed to expedite free trade agreement negotiations, although tangible progress is still awaited.
Senior officials from ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea—collectively known as ASEAN+3—will also gather at the AFMGM.
The ASEAN+3 Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting (AFCDM+3), co-chaired by Treasury Secretary-General Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican and Bank Negara Malaysia Deputy Governor Marzunisham Omar, will also take place today.
Later this evening, the Ministry of Finance will host a welcoming dinner at 8pm.
Over the course of four days, 14 meetings are planned, including high-level discussions with the ASEAN-US Business Council, ASEAN-European Union, and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC).
More than 300 delegates, including ASEAN finance ministers, central bank governors, international financial institutions, and private sector representatives, are expected to attend the AFMGM, the investment conference, and the exhibition. – April 8, 2025
