Periodic regulatory updates needed for TWC stocks

THE Singapore Exchange (SGX) over the past year has stepped up its efforts to strengthen local corporate governance - its Trade with Caution (TWC) notices now come with more targeted information, it has set up independent committees for listings and disciplinary actions, and last week it announced it will provide updates every six months on latest developments on companies whose shares have been suspended for years.

These are all creditable moves that should strengthen the disclosure-based governance framework in force here. To be sure, more information is always preferable to little or none and the move towards greater independence for important issues such as listings and discipline are necessary to answer critics who have long questioned the exchange's dual role - as a listed profit-driven bourse operator vested with regulatory functions.

However, without concurrent improvements in many other areas relating to governance, there is a danger that SGX's initiatives may end up having only marginal benefits.