CapitaLand bags 4 awards, DBS strikes 'royal flush' at Singapore Corporate Awards

These awards honour companies and individuals for corporate governance and shareholder communications

Singapore

MAINBOARD-listed CapitaLand was one of the biggest winners at the 13th annual Singapore Corporate Awards (SCA) on Wednesday, alongside DBS Group, which was conferred the Special Recognition Award for its "all-round excellence in corporate governance".

This year, 34 companies and six individuals were honoured for their exemplary performance in corporate governance and shareholder communication. The event, often dubbed as the "Oscars" of the Singapore business world, was held at the Resorts World Convention Centre.

In a welcome address, Kelvin Tan, a council member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), quipped that DBS had struck the "royal flush" - being the first company to have won in each of the five categories of awards from 2013 to 2017. The five are the Best Managed Board, Best Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Best Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Best Investor Relations and Best Annual Report.

DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said in a statement: "DBS has an active board that is conscious of the diverse needs of our stakeholders, and has put in place robust mechanisms to ensure that corporate governance principles are embedded in our corporate culture.

"As we celebrate our golden jubilee this year, this award inspires us to continue to reimagine banking, and do even better for our customers, employees and stakeholders."

Leading the way among the winners were property groups CapitaLand, which swept four awards, and Tuan Sing Holdings, which bagged three. Centurion Corporation, the Frasers group, SATS and Japan Foods garnered two awards each.

CapitaLand clinched a silver for the Best Managed Board in the large-cap category, meant for companies with a market cap of S$1 billion or more. CapitaLand Mall Trust Management (CMT) scooped two silvers, one for Best Investor Relations and the other, Best Annual Report categories. Completing the group's haul was CapitaLand Commercial Trust Management (CCT), which struck gold for Best Annual Report. Awards for both CMT and CCT were under the Reits (real estate investment trusts) and business trusts category.

Separately, Tuan Sing Holdings won two bronze awards for Best Managed Board and Best Investor Relations under the mid-cap category, meant for companies with a market cap of S$300 million or more, but less than S$1 billion. Tuan Sing's chief financial officer Chong Chou Yuen also won the best CFO under the mid-cap group of companies.

Speaking at the SCA, guest of honour and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Ng Chee Meng said: "As a nation, our answer is clear. We must and will take them (transformations and disruptions) by the horns and adapt, change, innovate and transform to stay ahead of our competition. In our disrupted world, our companies must be nimble and adaptable to transform and meet changing market demands."

Among the large-cap conglomerates, SATS clinched gold for the Best Managed Board, with its chief executive, Alexander Hungate also garnering the best CEO award.

Centurion Corporation received two gold awards for the Best Managed Board and Best Investor Relations in the mid-cap category.

Japan Foods clinched a gold for the Best Managed Board in the small-cap category.

Frasers Property won a silver for Best Investor Relations, while Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust clinched a merit for Best Annual Report under the category of First-Year Listed Companies.

Said Wong Wei Kong, co-chairman of the SCA and editor of The Business Times (BT): "Notwithstanding an increasingly volatile and challenging operating environment, it is always pertinent that organisations be transparent in their disclosures, regardless of good or bad news.

"Companies in Singapore face greater competition from companies in other markets, and being consistent in terms of communication with their stakeholders builds credibility and trust with them, and puts these companies a cut above other companies." Best Chief Executive awards also went to Melvin Teo Tzai Win from mid-cap Yeo Hiap Seng, and Christopher Reid Borch from small-cap Micro-Mechanics Holdings.

Accolades for Best CFO went to Lim Cheng Cheng of large-cap Singtel, Chong Chou Yuen of mid-cap Tuan Sing, and Kenneth Liew Kian Er of small-cap Japan Foods Holding.

The SCA was organised by the ISCA, the Singapore Institute of Directors and BT, with the support of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority and the Singapore Exchange.

READ MORE:

KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE

BT is now on Telegram!

For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes