The global MSCI Rating reflects Yahsat’s extensive efforts in adopting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) international best practices
Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider (ADX: YAHSAT), has received the prestigious “AA” Leader Rating on the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) ESG Index for 2023 in the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) category across its business operations.
The MSCI ESG Ratings are designed to evaluate a company’s resilience to long-term, financially relevant ESG risks and its openness to opportunities. This enables investors, and in particular institutional investors, to assess how companies are integrating various ESG factors into their business operations, hence supporting their investment decisions. By receiving this Leader Rating Yahsat is well positioned to be at the forefront of its industry in the adoption of ESG best practice, thus reinforcing its attractiveness to ESG-investing funds globally. This complements its strong ESG ratings recently received from other international rating organizations, including S&P Global and Sustainalytics.
In parallel Yahsat maintains a strong presence as a constituent of MSCI indices. It is included in the MSCI Small Cap Indices, including the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) Small Cap Index, MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap Index and the MSCI UAE Small Cap Index. The company provides investors globally with a lucrative opportunity to participate in the rapid growth of the space economy sector in the MENA region whilst simultaneously offering one of the highest dividends yields amongst ADX-listed companies, exceeding 6%.
Ali Al Hashemi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Yahsat, said: “We are proud to be awarded the “AA” Leader rating for 2023 from the MSCI. This underscores the huge strides made by Yahsat in recent years to accelerate our efforts towards a more innovative, efficient, and sustainable company across all our operations. It recognizes us as a leader in ESG within our industry and highlights how making bold changes can be beneficial, both for the environment and for sound business decision-making. We are determined to continue driving excellence in sustainability and ESG.”
The prestigious rating is a testament to Yahsat’s unwavering commitment and successful implementation of ESG strategies, policies, programmes and practices. In 2022, the company established a robust five-pillar Sustainability Framework, serving as a roadmap to embed responsible business practices into its core operations. In a significant move towards bolstering its ESG initiatives, Yahsat’s board approved its ESG policy in August 2023 and its CSR Strategy Framework in November 2023. The ESG policy provides comprehensive guidance on the group-wide approach to integrating ESG considerations into all facets of its operations.
