Focus on compliance hurting performance

Singapore

TOO heavy a focus on compliance at the expense of corporate strategy may be hobbling the performance of boards in Singapore and the region, a new study has found. This is especially true given the increasingly stringent new legal compliance rules and stock exchange guidelines now in place, said Heidrick & Struggles' Asia-Pacific Corporate Governance Report 2014.

Harry O'Neill, the managing partner for the Asia-Pacific at the Nasdaq-listed professional services firm, said: "In places like Hong Kong and Singapore, where many listed companies are family-owned, boards should regularly benchmark themselves against their peers to identify key differences that impact performance and share price."