S'pore's corporate governance must go beyond legal compliance

Singapore

AS Singapore's markets continue to evolve, corporate governance must raise its game beyond mere legal compliance to preserve shareholder interest as well as market confidence.

KPMG's survey of corporate responsibility reporting had found an increase in non-financial reporting in Asia, from 49 per cent in 2011 to 71 per cent in 2013. But a July 2014 publication by the NUS Business School noted that two-thirds of SGX listed main board companies are still not communicating sustainability information of their business to stakeholders. Furthermore, the local market is getting more complicated as it contemplates new initiatives, such as the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) tie-ups with foreign stock exchanges, and the introduction of new policies to encourage foreign listings in the city-state, thus, more needs to be done to ensure the quality of local corporate governance standards.