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Yahsat receives ‘AA’ ESG rating from MSCI

The global MSCI Rating reflects Yahsat’s extensive efforts in adopting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) international best practices.

Yahsat has received the esteemed “AA” Leader Rating on the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) ESG Index for the year 2023. This recognition, spanning the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) category, underscores Yahsat’s dedication to best practices across its business operations.

The MSCI ESG Ratings serve as a comprehensive evaluation of a company’s resilience to long-term, financially pertinent ESG risks and its receptiveness to opportunities. This assessment aids investors, particularly institutional investors, in gauging how companies integrate various ESG factors into their operations, facilitating informed investment decisions. By achieving the “AA” Leader Rating, Yahsat establishes itself as a frontrunner in ESG adoption within its industry, enhancing its appeal to global ESG-investing funds. This accolade complements the company’s robust ESG ratings from other esteemed international organizations, including S&P Global and Sustainalytics.

Simultaneously, Yahsat maintains a robust presence as a constituent of MSCI indices, featuring in the MSCI Small Cap Indices, such as the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) Small Cap Index, MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap Index, and the MSCI UAE Small Cap Index. This positions the company as a lucrative opportunity for global investors seeking participation in the burgeoning space economy sector in the MENA region, coupled with one of the highest dividend yields among ADX-listed companies, exceeding 6%.

Commenting on the achievement, 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 recognises 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 serves as a testament to Yahsat’s 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. Yahsat’s board further solidified its commitment to ESG initiatives by approving its ESG policy in August 2023 and its CSR Strategy Framework in November 2023. The comprehensive ESG policy provides guidance on the group-wide approach to integrating ESG considerations into all facets of its operations.