The Effects of Environmental, Social and Governance on the Corporate Performance of Malaysian Government-Linked Companies

Abstract

This study examines the impacts of ESG on the corporate performance government-linked companies (GLCs) in Malaysia. For the period 2006-2012, ESG disclosure data were extracted from the Sustainalytics ESG performance reports, while financial data were obtained from the Bloomberg database. Data development analysis (DEA) was used to estimate efficiency in the first stage; a regression analysis was performed to test the relationship between ESG and efficiency in the second stage. The empirical results of this study show that GLCs focused more on governance disclosures, followed by social and environmental aspects. Moreover, governance will improve firm efficiency, but social and environmental factors have no similar effect. In conclusion, this study provides insight on the limited literature on ESG and informs the relevant stakeholders on the important ESG components for financial and investment decisions.