71% discuss cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is the most common technology theme, reflecting board-level risk oversight, PDPA obligations and rising incident awareness.
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AI, Copilot and Cybersecurity in Bursa Malaysia Annual Reports: 2026 Findings
What are Malaysian listed companies saying about AI, cybersecurity, automation and ERP? Crest analysed the latest annual reports of 514 Bursa Malaysia companies to see where technology priorities sit today and what boards should do next.
- 514 annual reports
- Sector breakdown
- AI and cybersecurity
- 2026 findings
Research
Technology priorities of Malaysian listed companies
This article summarises how often Bursa Malaysia annual reports discuss AI, cybersecurity, automation, cloud, ERP and data privacy, broken down by sector and market, with practical takeaways.
- Headline findings across 514 reports
- AI and cybersecurity by sector
- Four takeaways for boards and CIOs
- Methodology and limitations
Key findings
What 514 Bursa Malaysia annual reports say about technology
Crest reviewed the latest annual reports of 514 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia, mostly for financial year 2025, and recorded which technology themes each report discusses.
48% discuss AI
Nearly half of listed companies now write about artificial intelligence, generative AI or machine learning in their annual report.
Only 4% name Copilot or Microsoft 365
Very few reports describe specific AI productivity tools, showing a gap between AI ambition and deployed solutions.
34% discuss digital transformation
A third describe digitalisation programmes across operations, customers and back office.
32% discuss automation
Automation is strongest in industrial products and services, at 45% of reports.
18% mention ERP systems
ERP modernisation, including SAP, Oracle and Microsoft Dynamics, features in almost one in five reports.
By sector
AI and cybersecurity mentions by Bursa Malaysia sector
Share of annual reports in each sector with at least one sentence on the theme. Sectors with fewer than 15 readable reports are excluded.
| Sector | Reports | AI | Cybersecurity | Automation | Cloud | ERP | Data privacy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial products and services | 133 | 35% | 69% | 45% | 14% | 21% | 16% |
| Consumer products and services | 100 | 43% | 67% | 35% | 24% | 27% | 7% |
| Technology | 89 | 71% | 74% | 36% | 37% | 15% | 10% |
| Property | 39 | 49% | 85% | 13% | 31% | 21% | 13% |
| Construction | 32 | 41% | 53% | 19% | 19% | 9% | 16% |
| Plantation | 24 | 38% | 58% | 33% | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Telecommunications and media | 23 | 61% | 70% | 13% | 43% | 4% | 13% |
| Financial services | 21 | 67% | 76% | 14% | 38% | 0% | 5% |
| Energy | 19 | 42% | 84% | 16% | 32% | 21% | 21% |
| Health care | 16 | 50% | 88% | 25% | 12% | 31% | 31% |
Main Market companies discuss AI more often than ACE Market companies (53% versus 43%) and cybersecurity more often (76% versus 65%).
Analysis
Four takeaways for boards and technology leaders
1. AI ambition is ahead of AI deployment
Almost half of listed companies discuss AI, but only a small minority describe specific tools such as Microsoft 365 Copilot. Many are still at strategy or pilot stage. The next step is a governed rollout with clear use cases, data protection and success measures.
2. Cybersecurity has become universal, and AI raises the stakes
With seven in ten reports discussing cybersecurity, and new PDPA breach-notification duties plus the Cyber Security Act 2024, security is now a baseline expectation. AI tools surface whatever users can access, so data exposure reviews and labelling should come before broad AI rollout.
3. Technology, telco and financial services are leading on AI
Between 61% and 71% of reports in these sectors discuss AI. Industrial companies focus more on automation, while property, energy and healthcare stand out for cybersecurity. Each sector needs a different starting point.
4. ERP and data foundations still matter
Nearly one in five reports mention ERP, and many link AI plans to data and analytics. AI delivers more when finance, operations and customer data are clean and connected.
Next steps
How to act on these findings
Assess Copilot readiness
Check licences, identity, data exposure and use cases before scaling AI.
Copilot readiness assessmentStrengthen cybersecurity
Map Microsoft security controls to PDPA and Cyber Security Act expectations.
Cybersecurity for listed companiesPlan a governed rollout
Move from pilot to department waves with adoption and usage reporting.
Copilot for listed companiesMethodology
How this review was done
Crest compiled the list of companies listed on Bursa Malaysia and read the most recent substantial annual report available for each company, skipping errata, circulars and standalone financial statements where a narrative report existed. Readable report text was extracted for 514 companies; 408 of the reports were for 2025 and 79 for 2026.
Sentences mentioning technology topics were extracted and matched to themes such as AI, cybersecurity, automation, cloud, ERP and data privacy. A company counts towards a theme when at least one extracted sentence matches. Scanned or image-based reports can be under-counted, and small sector samples should be read with care.
This analysis is based on public annual reports and is published in aggregate only. It does not identify or rank individual companies. Crest Business Solutions is not affiliated with Bursa Malaysia.
Industry guides
Microsoft Copilot by sector
- Copilot for banking and financial services
- Copilot for manufacturing and industrial
- Copilot for property and construction
- Copilot for consumer, retail and fmcg
- Copilot for technology and telecommunications
- Copilot for plantation and agribusiness
- Copilot for logistics and transportation
- Copilot for healthcare
- Copilot for energy and utilities
FAQ
Annual report findings - common questions
How many Bursa Malaysia listed companies discuss AI in their annual report?
In Crest’s 2026 review of 514 annual reports, 48% included at least one sentence on artificial intelligence, generative AI or machine learning.
Which sectors discuss AI the most?
Technology (71%), financial services (67%) and telecommunications and media (61%) had the highest share of reports discussing AI.
How common is cybersecurity in listed company annual reports?
71% of reports discussed cybersecurity, rising to 84% in energy, 85% in property and 88% in health care.
Does this review name individual companies?
No. Results are published in aggregate by sector and market only. Crest Business Solutions is not affiliated with Bursa Malaysia.
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