Bursa Malaysia Berhad and the Malaysia Forest Fund (MFF) have signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) to drive carbon market growth and strengthen ESG initiatives across the country. The agreement was announced during the 3rd Malaysia Carbon Market Forum — the flagship annual event of the Bursa Carbon Exchange (BCX).
Under the collaboration, both parties aim to align efforts between MFF’s REDD Plus Finance Framework (RFF) — which includes the Forest Conservation Certificate (FCC) and the Forest Carbon Offset (FCO) — and Bursa Malaysia’s decarbonisation strategies. BCX, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia, will play a central role in enabling these efforts.
The MoC was exchanged between Dato’ Fad’l Mohamed, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia, and Suhaini Haron, Senior Director of Corporate Development and Strategy at MFF, in the presence of Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, Minister of Plantation and Commodities and Acting Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability.
Over the two-year partnership, the organisations will explore a range of initiatives, including:
- The potential inclusion of FCC-backed projects within ESG-themed indices to promote forest conservation among listed companies.
- Increasing public awareness of Malaysia’s forthcoming national carbon crediting programme.
- Identifying opportunities for FCO units to be traded by both domestic and international participants through BCX to boost market liquidity.
- Collaborating on the development of carbon market infrastructure, including registries and tracking systems aligned with national policy frameworks.
Dato’ Fad’l Mohamed said the partnership underscored a shared ambition to strengthen Malaysia’s sustainability agenda: “This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to advancing forest conservation and restoration through both market-based and non-market mechanisms. We look forward to Malaysia’s national carbon crediting system, which will allow BCX to expand its portfolio to include both national and international labelled carbon credits, thereby broadening access and accelerating impact.”
Echoing the sentiment, Suhaini Haron said the FCO launch next year would mark a pivotal moment in Malaysia’s low-carbon transition: “The introduction of the FCO is a significant milestone in Malaysia’s vision to become a low-carbon nation. It highlights our determination to safeguard our forests and our readiness to play an active role in the global carbon economy. Listing FCOs on BCX will enhance Malaysia’s reputation for developing credible, transparent and nationally recognised carbon instruments while preserving the value of our natural forests for generations to come.”
