ASEAN is adapting Japan and Korea’s corporate value-up models to improve governance, disclosure, and investor participation. Countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam are implementing various value-up programs. The goals are similar: better shareholder returns, governance, and investability. Companies can enhance visibility and access to capital by improving capital allocation, shareholder returns, and investor engagement. ASEAN’s value-up agenda is progressing towards more structured expectations and greater regional alignment, enhancing the region’s capital markets’ integration.
ASEAN’s value-up agenda is evolving from market-specific reforms into a broader push to improve corporate value, governance and investor participation. Inspired by Japan’s 2023 reforms and Korea’s 2024 Corporate Value-Up Program, the region is adapting the model to local priorities. Singapore has introduced its Equities Market Review and S$30 million Value Unlock programme; Malaysia launched MY Value Up Programme for 88 large listed companies; and Thailand has linked value-creation initiatives with domestic investment incentives. Indonesia is pursuing governance and market-structure reforms, the Philippines is emphasising investor engagement, while Vietnam remains focused on strengthening market quality and infrastructure.
Despite different approaches, the objectives are similar: better capital allocation and shareholder returns, stronger governance and disclosure, and greater investability. These priorities address persistent constraints including concentrated ownership, limited free float, uneven institutional participation and gaps in research coverage. For companies, stronger capital allocation, shareholder-return policies and investor engagement can improve market visibility and access to institutional and international capital.
Implementation will determine whether these programmes deliver lasting value. Voluntary frameworks risk superficial compliance, while ownership, free-float and liquidity constraints require broader structural change. As ASEAN moves towards more structured expectations and greater regional alignment under initiatives such as the ACMF Action Plan 2026-2030, companies that improve capital efficiency, transparency and investor engagement early should be better positioned as regional capital markets become more integrated.
Background: Where Value-Up Came From and Why It Spread
Japan’s Template
The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)’s Value-Up initiative took shape in March 2023, when the TSE asked all Prime and Standard Market companies to assess their cost of capital and profitability, identify areas for improvement, and disclose plans to strengthen capital efficiency and market valuation. The TSE subsequently began publishing a monthly list of companies that had disclosed their responses, adding market visibility and reputational pressure to an otherwise principles-based framework.
The initiative coincided with a marked re-rating of Japanese equities. By 10 November 2023, the TOPIX had risen 24% for the year. Foreign investors recorded ten consecutive weeks of net buying between April and June, with purchases of cash equities and futures totalling ¥7.9 trillion. At the company level, the share of Prime Market companies trading below book value fell from 50% in July 2022 to 44% in July 2025, while those recording return on equity (ROE) below 8% declined from 47% to 43%. While broader market and macroeconomic factors also contributed, these shifts coincided with greater scrutiny of capital efficiency, governance and shareholder returns.
South Korea’s Iteration
Korea followed in February 2024 with its Corporate Value-Up Program, adapting elements of Japan’s approach to address the longstanding “Korea discount“. The programme encourages listed companies to voluntarily disclose plans covering capital efficiency and shareholder returns, supported by a Korea Value-Up Index, related ETFs, tax incentives and broader governance reforms.
In 2025, the KOSPI rose 75.6%, while the Korea Value-Up Index gained 89.4%. Cash dividends reached KRW50.9 trillion, up 11.1% year on year, while treasury-share cancellations rose to KRW21.4 trillion. Net assets in Value-Up ETFs reached KRW1.3 trillion by year-end, up 162.5% from their inception. Corporate participation accelerated further in 2026: full disclosures rose from 179 in February to 582 in March and 747 by July, with the March increase following tax changes that strengthened incentives for participating high-dividend companies. While these outcomes cannot be attributed to the programme alone, they point to stronger corporate participation and investor interest.
Taiwan Joins, and the Model Broadens
In 2024, Taiwan made “Strengthening the Capital Market and Enhancing Market Value” a key TWSE priority. Building on similar initiatives in Japan and Korea, the strategy encourages listed companies to assess indicators such as cost of capital, profitability and PBR, develop measures to enhance corporate value, and communicate them to investors. The TWSE subsequently incorporated Corporate Value Enhancement Plans into its Corporate Governance Best Practice Principles and launched an IR engagement platform in December 2024 to strengthen communication between listed companies and institutional investors.
Why Value-Up Resonates Across ASEAN
The structural frictions behind North Asia’s value-up reforms are also visible across parts of ASEAN. Despite substantial market development, ASEAN capital markets vary considerably in depth, liquidity and institutional participation. The ACMF has highlighted relatively small individual market size, subscale trading volumes and limited liquidity as constraints on regional market development, while the ADB noted in 2026 that ASEAN markets had yet to reach the scale needed to support the region’s long-term development ambitions. These conditions increase the relevance of measures aimed at improving disclosure, corporate value and investor engagement.
Regulators and exchanges are already moving in this direction. Singapore has expanded research coverage for smaller issuers through the Grant for Equity Market Singapore (GEMS); Malaysia’s Capital Market Masterplan 2026-2030 has emphasised stronger governance and sustainability disclosure; and Thailand’s Corporate Governance Code and SET ESG Data Platform support greater transparency, shareholder engagement and long-term value creation. Together, these initiatives provide a foundation for the broader value-up frameworks now emerging across ASEAN.
The Current State of Play Across ASEAN
The six markets sit at different points on the value-up spectrum, ranging from established programmes with dedicated funding and incentives to earlier-stage governance and market-development reforms.
Singapore
In November 2025, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Equities Market Review Group closed a year of consultation with a package of measures built around a S$30 million Value Unlock scheme, a second tranche of Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) fund-manager appointments, and an SGX-Nasdaq dual-listing bridge. Implementation has since progressed in 2026. MAS expanded the EQDP from S$5 billion to S$6.5 billion, while the Value Unlock programme opened for applications through its Equip and Elevate grants, which co-fund training and professional advisory support in areas including corporate strategy, financial management and investor relations. Meanwhile, SGX and MAS have advanced the regulatory framework for the Global Listing Board, designed to provide eligible companies with a streamlined pathway to dual listings on SGX and Nasdaq.
A March 2026 MAS speech by Managing Director Chia Der Jiun positioned these measures as part of a broader effort to embed value creation more firmly into Singapore’s corporate and market architecture. MAS is reviewing the Code of Corporate Governance to place greater emphasis on boards’ responsibilities for shareholder value creation and investor engagement, while SGX is working towards mandatory disclosures covering areas such as dividend policy, investor relations policy and the link between remuneration and value creation. This suggests that Singapore’s approach is beginning to extend beyond voluntary capability-building towards stronger market-wide expectations around how companies create and communicate shareholder value.
This is complemented by measures addressing the demand and visibility sides of the market. By February 2026, S$3.95 billion under the EQDP had been allocated across 9 asset managers, while the enhanced S$50 million GEMS scheme had supported more than 1,500 research reports and provided first-time coverage for over 100 stocks. Together with Value Unlock, these measures give Singapore a comprehensive framework, combining company-level value creation with institutional capital, research coverage and potentially stronger disclosure requirements.
Malaysia
Malaysia launched its MY Value Up Programme in April 2026 as a joint initiative of the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia under the Capital Market Masterplan 2026-2030. The initial programme focuses on 88 of the largest public-listed companies, each with a market capitalisation of about RM4 billion or more and collectively representing around 80% of Bursa Malaysia’s total market capitalisation. Participation remains voluntary but is highly encouraged.
The programme asks companies to develop and communicate medium- to long-term Value Up Plans setting out their growth strategies, targets and capital allocation priorities, supported by stronger board-level accountability and investor engagement. Rather than prescribing uniform performance targets, the Guidebook provides a principles-based framework and suggested metrics that companies can adapt to their business and industry. These include measures of capital efficiency and shareholder value, such as ROE relative to the cost of equity, alongside shareholder returns and relevant market-valuation and sector-specific indicators.
Implementation is being phased. In 2026, the focus is on familiarisation and alignment, with regulators engaging targeted companies on the submission of their plans. From 2027, targeted companies are expected to begin publishing their Value Up Plans, creating a public baseline for investor assessment and engagement. The framework could become more prescriptive over time, with regulators indicating that mandatory disclosure requirements may be considered from 2028. Alongside the MY Value Up Programme, Bursa Malaysia’s expanded Research Incentive SchemE Plus (Bursa RISE+) complements the initiative by providing research coverage for selected companies, helping to improve their visibility and investor awareness.
Thailand
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) launched the JUMP+ Program to help listed companies strengthen their competitiveness and create long-term corporate value. The program supports companies throughout the process, from developing their growth plans to putting them into action.
The inaugural JUMP+ cohort comprises 142 listed companies that voluntarily joined the program, surpassing the initial target of 100 companies. As of 1 April 2026, they represented approximately 16% of all listed companies and 14% of total market capitalization. Participants span all industry groups across SET and mai.
At the core of JUMP+ is a three-year value-creation plan for 2026–2028, approved by each company’s board of directors and covering three dimensions: Business, Governance and Climate Action. Participating companies have developed 277 Business Plans, focusing on areas including revenue and profit growth, business expansion, operational efficiency and competitiveness. On governance plans, participants have set out 459 governance initiatives addressing accountability and transparency, people and risk management, and board structure and qualifications. Meanwhile, more than 80% of participating companies have developed Climate Action Plans, including initiatives on greenhouse gas measurement, verification and emissions reduction.
JUMP+ Program Framework
Supporting Companies from Planning to Action
SET, the Capital Market Development Fund (CMDF) and partner organizations support companies in implementing their JUMP+ plans through grants of up to THB 5 million, advisory services, training and workshops, and corporate visibility activities such as JUMP+ Investor Day, roadshows, media program and research coverage.
Participating companies have now entered the implementation phase, with progress to be reported every six months and communicated to investors through activities such as Earnings Call (Opportunity Day).
Linking Corporate Value Creation with Domestic Investment
JUMP+ is also connected to Thailand’s broader domestic investment ecosystem. Under the expanded Thai ESG and Thai ESGX rules, shares of JUMP+ participants with a Corporate Governance Report (CGR) score of at least 90 may qualify as eligible investments.
As of 27 February 2026, 77 Thai ESG funds, including Thai ESGX funds, were managed by 19 asset managers, with aggregate net asset value of approximately THB 104.1 billion. This provides a potential channel for eligible companies’ value-creation plans and progress to gain greater visibility among domestic investors.
By connecting strategy, implementation, support and investor transparency, JUMP+ aims to help Thai listed companies strengthen competitiveness, pursue sustainable growth and create long-term value.
Indonesia has pursued value-up through market-structure and governance reform. In February 2026, the Financial Services Authority (OJK), together with the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and Indonesia Central Securities Depository (KSEI), accelerated an eight-point capital-market reform agenda aimed at strengthening liquidity, transparency and investor confidence. The reforms focus on ownership transparency, free float, enforcement and listed-company governance, addressing concerns over concentrated shareholdings and investability that had weighed on the market’s standing with international investors.
A central pillar is tighter ownership and free-float disclosure. IDX amended Regulation I-A in March 2026 to strengthen free-float requirements, including a minimum 15% threshold for the largest new listings, while refining the definition of free float and strengthening governance requirements for listed companies. OJK, IDX and KSEI also introduced public disclosure of shareholdings above 1%, implemented a High Shareholding Concentration framework, expanded investor classifications in KSEI ownership data to 39 categories, and strengthened reporting of controlling shareholders, directors, commissioners and beneficial owners. Together, these measures are intended to make effective ownership and investable float easier for investors and index providers to assess, while improving price discovery and market liquidity.
Indonesia Capital Market Transparency Reform Framework
Source: BRI Danareksa Sekuritas
The reforms have received recognition from global index providers, but implementation remains under scrutiny. MSCI acknowledged Indonesia’s transparency reforms in April 2026 and, in its June Market Classification Review, described the measures as a step in the right direction while retaining Indonesia’s Emerging Market status. However, it continued to flag concerns over shareholder transparency and trading behaviour, and warned that insufficient progress by the November 2026 Index Review could trigger further action, potentially including consultation on a reclassification to Frontier Market status.
The Philippines has taken a more engagement-led approach to corporate value creation, focusing on improving the connection between listed companies and investors. The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) launched InvestPH in 2025 as a platform to showcase listed companies and the broader Philippine investment opportunity to domestic and foreign institutional investors. Institutional investors account for around 80% of PSE trading activity, making deeper engagement with this investor base particularly relevant to market liquidity and company visibility. The inaugural event attracted more than 300 participants and facilitated 180 one-on-one meetings between institutional investors and participating listed companies. The initiative expanded in 2026, when foreign investor participation nearly doubled and 250 one-on-one meetings were held between institutional investors and companies. InvestPH 2026 also placed corporate governance and value creation more explicitly on the agenda, including a dedicated session on “Governance and Value Up Reforms” involving the Securities and Exchange Commission and listed-company executives.
This engagement extends beyond the annual conference. Since 2022, the PSE and Bloomberg have jointly organised Investor Relations Workshops aimed at strengthening communication between listed companies and investors and sharing strategies to enhance stakeholder value. The 2025 workshop, for example, brought together 34 participants, including representatives from 12 PSE-listed companies. The PSE also holds PSE STAR (Strengthening Access and Reach): Investor Day, which allows listed companies to present their performance, developments and growth strategies through live and on-demand briefings. As of August 2026, the PSE had conducted 13 editions featuring 75 listed companies. The latest, held on August 17 and 18, featured live briefings from executives of 13 companies. These initiatives are supported by efforts to improve corporate disclosures. In January 2025, the PSE released ESG 101: A Reporting Guidebook to help issuers produce reliable disclosures of material sustainability information and connect ESG performance with business strategy, financial results and long-term value creation. Together, these initiatives reflect an emerging model centred on stronger investor communication, corporate visibility and direct engagement.
The engagement push is being complemented by broader reforms intended to make the Philippine capital market more accessible and competitive. The Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA), which took effect in July 2025, reduced the stock transaction tax from 0.6% to 0.1%, alongside other measures aimed at simplifying taxation and lowering transaction costs. This provides an important market-structure counterpart to the PSE’s engagement and disclosure initiatives seek to improve how companies communicate their value proposition, while reforms such as CMEPA reduce frictions for investors seeking to allocate capital. The Philippines’ model therefore remains less prescriptive than the value-up frameworks emerging elsewhere in ASEAN, but is increasingly building the infrastructure for stronger investor engagement, visibility and market participation.
Vietnam
Vietnam remains an observer of the regional value-up trend, with reforms focused on strengthening market quality rather than establishing a dedicated company-level programme. Under its Securities Market Development Strategy to 2030, the government aims to raise listed-company governance above the Southeast Asian average, strengthen ESG practices and attract greater institutional and foreign participation. The Securities Market Upgrade Scheme, approved in September 2025, further links these reforms to Vietnam’s ambition to meet international emerging-market standards. Progress was recognised by FTSE Russell in October 2025, when it announced that Vietnam would be reclassified from Frontier to Secondary Emerging Market status, effective September 2026. FTSE Russell cited improvements including the removal of prefunding requirements for foreign institutional investors and enhancements to market infrastructure, while noting that Vietnam had met all criteria for Secondary Emerging Market status.
Timeline for the reclassification of Vietnam from Frontier to Secondary Emerging Market
Source: VinaCapital
Progress continued in 2026, with the State Securities Commission (SSC) prioritising improvements in corporate governance, information disclosure and auditing, alongside stronger market supervision and further securities-law reforms. Vietnam therefore remains at an earlier stage than Malaysia or Thailand: its current focus is on building the governance, transparency and market infrastructure that could support more explicit corporate value-up initiatives over time.
Opportunities for Companies to Uplift Their Value
For issuers, the region’s emerging value-up frameworks point to four interconnected opportunities: (1) improving capital efficiency and shareholder returns; (2) strengthening governance, disclosure and investor engagement; (3) broadening the investor base and market visibility; and (4) benchmarking against regional and global best practice. Together, these measures can reinforce investor confidence, improve access to capital and support stronger corporate value over time.
Improve Capital Efficiency and Shareholder Returns
The most direct opportunity is to improve how companies earn, allocate and return capital. Companies can divest non-core or underperforming assets, unwind inefficient cross-shareholdings and redirect capital towards businesses capable of generating stronger returns. Evidence from Japan supports the link between capital efficiency and market valuation: a 2026 Journal of Corporate Finance study of the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s initiative found that investors particularly favoured low-PBR companies with higher ROE, alongside valuation improvements among persistently undervalued firms.
Disciplined capital allocation is particularly relevant in Southeast Asia. BCG’s 2025 Southeast Asia Value Creators Report, covering 525 listed companies, found that the region generated a market-cap-weighted total shareholder return (TSR) of 12.4% over the six years to July 2025, but a median TSR of only 4.4%. Multibusiness conglomerates, representing around 8% of regional market capitalisation, recorded a median TSR of 0%. BCG identifies sharper capital allocation as one of the key levers for addressing this gap, including clearer prioritisation between investment in core businesses, M&A, dividends and share buybacks.
Six-year TSR by Region (31 July 2019-31 July 2025, %)
Source: BCG 2025 Southeast Asia Value Creators Report
Where attractive reinvestment opportunities are limited, companies can return surplus capital through sustainable dividends, share buybacks and share cancellations. These measures should form part of an integrated capital-allocation framework: investment should take priority where expected returns exceed the cost of capital, while excess capital can be returned when compelling opportunities are unavailable.
Strengthen Governance, Disclosure and Investor Engagement
Strong governance supports value creation by increasing investor confidence in how companies are managed and capital is allocated. The ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS) provides a common regional benchmark covering shareholder rights and equitable treatment, disclosure and transparency, sustainability and board responsibilities.
In 2026, the Singapore Governance and Transparency Index (SGTI) assessment of 458 listed companies illustrates both progress and remaining gaps. The overall mean governance score reached 69.5, but only 33% of dividend-paying companies disclosed a dividend payment policy, 40% explained how boards solicit shareholder views, and 49% disclosed an investor relations policy. These gaps highlight opportunities for companies to differentiate themselves through clearer capital-return policies and more structured investor engagement.
B.R.E.A.D Score by Percentage (General Performance)
Source: Corporate Governance for the Value Era
Governance improvements are most effective when accompanied by forward-looking disclosure and regular communication with investors. Clearer reporting of capital-allocation priorities, medium-term objectives and progress against targets can reduce information asymmetry, while investor engagement allows management to explain strategic decisions and better understand shareholder concerns.
Broaden the Investor Base and Improve Market Visibility
Companies can broaden their investor base by improving both investability and visibility. Free float and trading liquidity are important because major global indices consider shares actually available to investors when determining index inclusion and weights. MSCI’s Global Investable Market Index Methodology uses a Foreign Inclusion Factor reflecting shares available to international investors, while FTSE Russell similarly adjusts index weights for public free float. MSCI further refined its methodology in its May 2026 Index Review by introducing more granular free-float bands.
Visibility is particularly important for small- and mid-cap companies. The OECD’s 2025 review of equity markets for growth companies found that 54% of surveyed jurisdictions identified insufficient research availability as an investor challenge, while another 8% cited the cost of obtaining research. Companies can address this through stronger investor relations, accessible corporate information and broader analyst coverage, helping reduce information asymmetries, support liquidity and attract a wider range of investors.
Comparison of Free Float Levels between Growth and Main Markets, end-2023
Source: OECD 2025 Equity Markets for Growth Companies
Benchmark Against Regional and Global Best Practice
Benchmarking against regional and global peers can help companies identify gaps in governance, disclosure, investor engagement and capital efficiency, while providing a practical basis for strengthening their investment proposition. This is becoming increasingly relevant as investor expectations and market standards converge across jurisdictions.
Regional initiatives are reinforcing this trend. The ASEAN Capital Markets Forum’s (ACMF) Action Plan 2026-2030 seeks to deepen market connectivity and promote greater consistency and interoperability across ASEAN capital markets, including more comparable sustainability disclosures and stronger cross-border investment frameworks. As standards converge, companies that benchmark against leading peers can identify gaps earlier, adapt to changing investor and regulatory expectations, and compete more effectively for regional and international capital.
ACMF Action Plan 2026-2030: Strategic Priorities and Initiatives
Source: ACMF Action Plan 2026-2030
Challenges and Path to Implementation
Superficial Compliance
Voluntary or principles-based frameworks risk encouraging disclosure without meaningful changes to capital allocation, governance or shareholder returns. Clear targets and progress monitoring are therefore important. The TSE publicly tracks companies’ disclosure status, while Thailand’s JUMP+ requires board-approved 2026-2028 value-creation plans and half-yearly updates, helping investors distinguish substantive reform from participation in name only.
Weak Incentive Design
Participation also depends on whether the benefits justify the costs of additional disclosure, governance reform and changes to capital allocation. As the OECD highlights, governance frameworks should align incentives with long-term value creation rather than compliance alone. Value-up programmes therefore need sufficiently clear benefits to encourage meaningful participation.
Free Float and Ownership Transparency
Concentrated ownership can limit free float and institutional participation. OECD research finds that strategic individuals hold more than one-quarter of equity in growth companies, versus 7% in main-market companies, while institutional ownership stands at 18% versus 46%. Clearer ownership structures and greater tradable float can therefore improve investability and broaden the investor base.
Liquidity
Limited market liquidity can also constrain the impact of company-level reforms. Institutional investors held only 21% of Asian listed equity in 2025, compared with 47% globally, with holdings below 10% in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Addressing this gap requires improvements in free float and investor engagement alongside broader efforts to deepen institutional participation and secondary-market activity.
Institutional Investor Holding in Asia, 2025
Source: OECD Asia Capital Markets Report 2026
Outlook
ASEAN’s value-up agenda is likely to become more structured as regulators move from encouraging better corporate practices towards clearer expectations around targets, disclosure and accountability. Companies can prepare by establishing credible capital-efficiency targets, shareholder-return policies and mechanisms for tracking and communicating progress.
Value creation is also becoming more closely linked to ASEAN’s broader sustainability and market-integration agenda. The ACMF Action Plan 2026-2030, with 11 priorities and 18 initiatives, promotes regional integration, sustainability and global positioning through measures including ASEAN indices, cross-listing frameworks and regional sustainability initiatives. This could make corporate disclosure, governance and investability increasingly important beyond companies’ domestic markets.
Ultimately, the next phase of ASEAN’s value-up agenda will depend less on launching new programmes than on translating existing initiatives into measurable corporate change. As regional standards and capital markets become more interconnected, companies that strengthen capital allocation, governance, transparency and investability early should be better positioned to attract regional and international capital.
This article was written by Smartkarma, in collaboration with ASEAN Exchanges.
Source : Value-Up Comes to ASEAN: How Six Markets Are Racing to Close the Discount
