Written reply to Parliamentary Question on corporate governance standards for listed companies

In a recent parliamentary sitting, the Prime Minister of Singapore was asked about the government’s plans to enhance corporate governance for listed companies in Singapore and its ambition to adopt regulatory requirements for companies to meet specified governance standards, like achieving a minimum score on the Singapore Governance and Transparency Index.
In its written response, Mr. Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), noted the following:
– MAS is already collaborating closely with industry players like the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) and the Corporate Governance Advisory Committee (CGAC), an industry-led committee, to promote and improve corporate governance among listed companies.
– The SGX listing rules and the accompanying Code of Corporate Governance establish fundamental standards for corporate governance that all listed companies must follow. These encompass obligations regarding board composition, director independence, and compensation.
– MAS and SGX regularly reassess these basic requirements, in collaboration with the CGAC, to incorporate the latest advancements and best practices. For instance, earlier this year, SGX modified its listing rules by capping the tenure of independent directors on listed companies‘ boards to nine years and mandating detailed disclosure of CEO and directors‘ remuneration.
– The essential criteria shaping Singapore Governance and Transparency Index scores are already embedded within the SGX listing rules and the Corporate Governance Code. However, not all corporate governance measures are easily measured and embedded in the index as they entail qualitative assessments. For instance, information about how diversity among board members is aligning with a company’s needs and plans isn’t easily measurable and put into numbers. Therefore, not all information can be put into the Index, but are nonetheless significant to evaluate a company’s corporate governance.