Bursa Malaysia has on Monday launched the Bursa Malaysia Quality 50 Index (BMQ) and the Bursa Malaysia Quality 50 Shariah Index (BMQ-S), the exchange’s first in-house indexes that are based on financial performance.

Bursa Malaysia said in a statement that unlike headline benchmarks that mainly track companies based on market capitalization, the BMQ and BMQ-S indexes profile listed companies that demonstrate comparatively stronger financial characteristics across profitability, capital structure and earnings quality.

These factors are measured through return on equity, debt-to-equity, and operating cash flow relative to profit after tax and minority interests.

Each index comprises 50 companies from the MAIN Market and ACE Market that are not part of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBMKLCI), the market’s primary headline benchmark where a large share of market capitalization and investor focus is concentrated.

Fad’l Mohamed, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia, said the launch of the Bursa Malaysia Quality 50 Index and the Bursa Malaysia Quality 50 Shariah Index marks a significant milestone in our index innovation journey.

“We are seeing financially resilient companies emerging across sectors, including technology companies which make up almost 18 percent of both BMQ and BMQ-S,

“These indexes provide reference points that reflect this broader growth landscape, ensuring that Malaysian companies with strong fundamentals are visible and accessible to investors, whilst also supporting broader participation in Malaysia’s equity market,” he added.

Both BMQ and BMQ-S use the same index construction framework, with BMQ-S comprising only securities recognized as Shariah-compliant by the Shariah Advisory Council of the Securities Commission Malaysia.

To ensure the indexes reflect companies that are suitable for benchmarking and investment reference, selected companies must meet minimum requirements in terms of
size and trading activity.

The indexes will be reviewed twice a year to ensure they continue to reflect current market conditions and company performance.

Index values and constituent information will be available on Bursa Malaysia’s website.

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