Compliance crucial for SGX-listed foreign firms

ACCORDING to the 2014 Singapore Exchange (SGX) annual report, 40 per cent of the exchange's 766 listed companies are based outside of Singapore. This makes the Singapore Stock Exchange a world leader in foreign listings, well on its way to being the "Asian gateway for companies seeking to tap international capital markets".

While the strategy of internationalising the local exchange is a sound move given the small size of our domestic market, one concern is whether these foreign firms have implemented adequate governance mechanisms to safeguard the interests of local shareholders.

A key finding of SID-ISCA's Singapore Directorship Report 2014 was that Singapore-registered firms demonstrated a higher level of compliance with s…