A Main Market company’s annual report must hold its audited accounts, with the auditors’ and directors’ reports. It must also set out every item in Part A of Appendix 9C. That list runs from director profiles to the MD&A, director pay, top shareholders and the sustainability statement. The report is due within 4 months of the year end.
The rules are in Chapter 9 of Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market Listing Requirements, updated as at 9 July 2026. Appendix 9C sits at the end of that chapter. This page covers the Bursa rules only. The Companies Act 2016 adds its own rules for the accounts.
The deadline and the core annual report rule
Paragraph 9.23(1) says the annual report must include the audited accounts for the year. The auditors’ and directors’ reports go with them. The report goes to Bursa and shareholders "within 4 months from the close of the financial year".
Paragraph 9.25(1) then says the company "must set out separately in its annual report" the items in Part A of Appendix 9C. Part A is headed "Contents of annual report". It has 31 numbered items, some marked deleted, plus items 4A and 6A.
Paragraph 9.25(2) sets a date for Part A details. They must be made up to a date no earlier than 6 weeks before the date of the AGM notice in the report. So shareholding tables and director details must be recent.
The Appendix 9C checklist, grouped
The table groups the live items of Part A by topic. The item numbers are Bursa’s own, so each section can be matched to its rule.
| Group | Appendix 9C, Part A items | What the annual report shows |
|---|---|---|
| Company details | 1, 2, 5 | Registered office and share registry addresses, phone and email; the company secretary’s name |
| People | 3, 4, 4A, 28 | Profiles of each director, the chief executive and key senior management; directors’ training |
| Board and committees | 6, 6A, 12 | Audit committee report; nominating committee activities; number of board meetings |
| Business review | 7 | Management discussion and analysis (MD&A) |
| Governance and control | 8, 9, 10, 30 | CG overview; responsibility statement on the audited accounts; risk management and internal control statement; internal audit function and its cost |
| Money and contracts | 11, 13, 18, 21, 22 | Director and CEO pay on a named basis; use of proceeds; audit and non-audit fees; material contracts and loans involving directors or major shareholders |
| Shareholders | 23 | Substantial shareholders, director interests, holder numbers, distribution schedule, top 30 holders |
| Assets and share schemes | 25, 27 | Material properties; employee share scheme details |
| Sustainability | 29 | The Sustainability Statement |
| Shariah screening | 31 | Comparative financial data for the SC’s Shariah screening |
What the people sections must say
Director profiles carry the most fixed detail in Part A. Item 3 asks for each director’s name, age, gender, nationality and qualification. The profile says if the director is executive or not, and if they are independent. It also covers:
- Working experience and occupation, and the date first appointed to the board
- Board committees the person sits on, and other directorships in public companies and listed issuers
- Any family link to a director or major shareholder
- Any conflict of interest, such as a stake in a rival business
- Convictions within the past 5 years, other than traffic offences, and any public sanction during the year
- Board meetings attended in the year
Items 4 and 4A ask for similar profiles of the chief executive and key senior management. This group must include the person who mainly runs the core business and main subsidiaries.
What the MD&A must cover
Item 7 sets a floor for the management discussion and analysis. It must include at least:
- An overview of the group’s business, objectives and strategies.
- A discussion of the results and financial position, with the measures used to track them.
- A review of how each main business segment ran in the year.
- Known risks that could materially affect the group, with plans to manage them.
- A forward-looking statement on trends, outlook, new businesses and the dividend policy.
Item 7 sets content only. Charts, tables and a page for each segment can make that content easier to read.
Fees, contracts and related loans
Item 18 covers the auditors. The report shows the audit fees and the non-audit fees paid to the auditors or their affiliated firms. Each is shown for the company and for the group. If the non-audit fees were significant, the report describes the services. If there were none, the report says so.
Items 21 and 22 cover material contracts that involve the interests of directors, the chief executive or major shareholders. For each contract the report gives the date, the parties, its general nature and the consideration. It also states the link between the director or shareholder and the other party. If the contract is a loan, the report adds the lender, the purpose, the amount, the interest rate and any security. If there were no such contracts, the report says so.
Statements the annual report must carry
Several items point to statements that other rules require. Item 8 is the overview of how the company applied the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance. Item 10 is the statement on risk management and internal control.
Bursa’s Practice Note 9 (listed as updated as at 31 December 2024) explains these. Paragraph 1.1 says the annual report must state "the designated website link or address" where the CG Report can be downloaded. Paragraph 2.3 says the board must approve the CG Overview Statement and the CG Report. The board also approves the risk and internal control statement.
Item 29 is the Sustainability Statement. Practice Note 9, paragraph 6.1A, says this statement must follow IFRS S1 and IFRS S2. Our September guide on which companies must report under the NSRF covers the phase-in dates.
Item 31 is newer. Paragraph 9.25A asks for two years of financial data, in a set format, for the SC’s Shariah screening. It applies for financial years ending on or after 31 December 2025.
Items that can move to the website
Paragraph 9.25(1) allows a Part A item to sit on the company website instead of in the report. All three conditions must be met:
- The information was announced before, or stays substantially unchanged year to year.
- The company publishes it on its website.
- The annual report gives the website address and the place on the site where the item can be found.
Sections that rarely change fit this rule best. Each one needs a stable link that the report can print.
A good plan for an annual report starts with this checklist, then a page plan for each section. Our guide to the pages a designer builds in a Malaysian annual report shows how those sections are usually laid out. QC Fixer’s annual report design service lays out each Appendix 9C section, from director profiles to shareholding tables, so readers can find it fast.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a listed company have to issue its annual report?
Within 4 months from the close of its financial year, under paragraph 9.23(1) of the Main Market Listing Requirements.
Must director pay be shown for each director?
Yes. Item 11 asks for director and chief executive remuneration on a named basis, with each component such as fees, salary and bonus shown for each person.
How many shareholders must the annual report list by name?
Item 23 asks for the 30 securities account holders with the largest holdings in each class of equity and convertible securities.
Is the sustainability statement part of the annual report?
Yes. Item 29 of Part A of Appendix 9C places the Sustainability Statement among the annual report’s required contents.
