FGV Annual Report 2020

In Conversation with Group Chief Executive Officer EMBEDDING ROBUST GOVERNANCE STANDARDS It was a proud moment for FGV to win the World Finance 2020 Corporate Governance Award (Malaysia). Previous winners of this award include prominent Malaysian companies from diverse industries such as telecommunication and banking. For us, this recognition represents international acknowledgement of FGV’s successful efforts in strengthening corporate governance, in which the Board and Management have worked hard for. Another significant achievement is the ISO370001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS) accreditation which was awarded to us in December 2019. We are also the first plantation company to have ABMS. What I find most satisfying is that, unlike other companies, our ABMS accreditation covers the entire scope of FGV’s operations. We are one of few companies on Bursa Malaysia with the end-to-end ABMS coverage. As part of our Anti-Bribery initiatives, we conducted training programmes and workshops to send out the message to staff that FGV does not tolerate bribery and corruption. To ensure the system works well, we also enhanced our whistleblowing mechanism. FGV staff have been increasingly utilising our whistleblowing channels showing growing trust amongst the raised issues to management, knowing appropriate action will be taken and no wrongdoers will be spared. During the year, we also launched the FGV Anti-Corruption Plan which is a comprehensive three-year programme to further embed high integrity and zero tolerance to corruption culture throughout FGV. An adjunct of this is the Online Integrity Pledge which was rolled out to all FGV staff and duly signed by over 90% of our employees. In my engagements with the investment community, I have found that the market is no longer questioning FGV on its corporate governance or matters relating to ethics and integrity. I think these areas have seen huge improvements in FGV. There has been positive public perception of FGV as a listed company as reflected in our share price. When I joined in January 2019, FGV’s share price was RM0.92 per share. By the end of 2020, it was hovering around RM1.27-RM1.30. When FELDA’s take over announcement was made in December 2020, FGV shares was capped at RM1.30. I think there is a return in investor confidence in FGV’s leadership and in FGV as an investable company. What are the notable achievements so far? With the Business Plan, the first priority for our Management team was to get the house in order. I am pleased to report that we have achieved success in three strategic areas of importance, namely, governance, operations and company culture. We consider these three dimensions as the foundation for good operational and financial performance. Once we establish a solid foundation in these areas, FGV will have the vitality and confidence to seize opportunities that create more value as well as manage risks more effectively. Q 2 36 FGV HOLDINGS BERHAD Annual Integrated Report 2020