THE Singapore Code of Corporate Governance (SCCG) last month underwent its third revamp since it was first introduced in 2002. Throughout the past 16 years, these revamps have been aimed at adapting the Code to suit changing circumstances and to fit the best practices in other developed markets.

The latest revisions focused on enhancing the quality of the Board of Directors - through a tighter definition of independence and through the setting of a hard limit of service for directors at nine years.

To see how the Code has evolved, it is worth recalling that a proposal in 2005 to tighten the definition of independence from substantial shareholders was not accepted.