CGAC: did MAS cast net wide enough?

SINGAPORE this week launched its first permanent, industry-led body, whose purpose is to ensure that the nation's corporate governance (CG) standards remain on a par with the best in the world. The 18-member strong unit boasts some impressive names; yet, rumblings can be already be heard in some quarters that the establishment could have cast its net farther and wider in its search for candidates.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Tuesday launched the Corporate Governance Advisory Committee (CGAC), the formation of which was a recommendation by the Corporate Governance Council (CG Council) that reviewed the Code of Corporate Governance (CG Code) last year.

The CGAC has been set up as an advocacy, and not a regulatory, body; among its tasks are identifying current and potential risks to the quality of CG in Singapore, taking a leading role in advocating good CG practices, acting as a CG resource and advisory body to regulators, monitoring international trends, and recommendi…