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KUALA LUMPUR: Companies listed on Bursa Malaysia need to be transparent in providing information to the investor community, said Bravemarket Inc managing director Dr B.M. Marcello Maestro.

He said he had been talking to some of the local companies and found them undervalued because of their lack of transparency.

“You need to communicate with the investors by giving them clear information about your company’s growth, earnings and revenues.

“Most of the companies have knowledge and future plans about their company but they are not putting that in their website which makes them look unattractive to investors’ eyes,” he told Bernama.

Maestro urged the companies to inform the investor community about their growth plans – where they are going, and how and when they are going to get there – because investors are interested in the future and not in the past.

“Clarity creates confidence. If you are clear about your company, then you will have investors coming in for you, and once they are confident about your company then they will keep on investing for a long time.

“It doesn’t matter if your past performance is poor, you need to explain why and how you are going to overcome that,” he said.

Maestro said a company’s share prices were an indication of how investors were valuing its assets.

“Once the share prices go up, its market cap will follow and the company can have lower funding.

“With lower funding, you can expand more because your share prices are higher, and you could also improve the balance sheet,” he added.

Bravemarket, a US-based firm servicing financial institutions, businesses and governments, has engaged government agencies to select the best local small and medium enterprises for inclusion in the Bravemarket Asia Investment Ready 500. — Bernama