Winners set pace for corporate governance excellence

Singapore

THE Singapore Corporate Awards (SCA) 2019 on Tuesday honoured 38 companies and six individuals for leading the way in corporate governance and shareholder communication.

The CapitaLand group of companies, DBS Group, Keppel Corporation group of companies, United Overseas group of companies led the winners with multiple awards, while the Frasers Property group of companies, OCBC, Tuan Sing, Frencken Group, Sing Investments and iFAST also took home two awards each.

The three outstanding CEOs crowned came from Singapore Airlines, Far East Orchard and Sing Investments, each belonging to different categories by market capitalisation. They are respectively Goh Choon Phong, Lui Chong Chee and Lee Sze Leong.

The best chief financial officer awards went to Wilmar International, Vicom Ltd and iFAST Corporation in their respective categories. The winners are respectively Ho Kiam Kong, Mary Lee and David Leung.

In all, 10 companies were honoured for the quality of their corporate governance in their board practices; 14 companies were recognised for excellence in their investor relations efforts; and 13 companies were commended for the standards of disclosure in their financial reporting.

There was also an inaugural award given for best risk management. For the first time, eight companies were lauded under this category for their effective risk management practices to support strategic directions. Among the gold winners are DBS Group Holdings and China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation.

The Special Recognition Award, in its fourth year running, was also awarded to DBS Group for a second consecutive year. Last year, DBS was recognised for its all-round excellence in corporate governance.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, the guest of honour at the event, said: "It is commendable that some of tonight's winners are also past winners. They have not rested on their laurels.

"For the new winners, I hope that you will similarly continue to enhance your practices and corporate governance. I hope that all of you will share best practices and ideas, be champions of good corporate governance, and inspire other companies to do so."

Patrick Lee, CEO of Standard Chartered Singapore, said: "Good governance and leadership are closely linked, and are like steering a ship. This year's award winners have demonstrated this clearly. They set a long-term course and strategy. They steer successfully through good and bad conditions, often unpredictable, while never losing sight of the importance of developing their teams."

Wong Wei Kong, co-chair of SCA and editor of The Business Times, added that he is heartened that companies are increasingly aware that corporate governance is the cornerstone for long-term business sustainability.

"Being the 14th year running for the SCA, we are constantly re-evaluating new focus areas through new awards that will motivate companies in Singapore to enhance their disclosures and communication to stakeholders."

The SCA is jointly organised by The Business Times, Singapore Institute of Directors and Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants, with the support of the Singapore Exchange and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. Standard Chartered Singapore is the presenting sponsor while Jardine Cycle & Carriage is co-sponsor.

READ MORE: