On Tuesday (19 September 2017), SIAS (Securities Investors Association Singapore) held its 18th SIAS Investors’ Choice Awards to recognise companies that have outdone its peers when it comes to corporate governance, transparency, shareholder communications and sustainability.
Corporate Governance And Sustainability
In June 2016, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) introduced its sustainability reporting requirement on a “comply or explain” basis. This report should include environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, policies, practices and performance, targets, framework and their board statement.
Coming into effect after 31 December 2017, listed companies will need to already implement a system to be able to issue a report covering all the above-mentioned points in 2018. Its “comply or explain” requirement means companies will have to describe what it does in relation to any of the points omitted and explain reasons for it.
For smaller companies, this will no doubt increase its listing requirements expenses and eat away at some of its profits as well as provide another distraction for its management.
Some shareholders and company management may look at it as a bad thing for these reasons. However, shareholders can look at this requirement as prove that the company is being run well. At the end of the day, it’s better to lose out on a little bit of gains to ensure that the company is well managed rather than think everything is going on well only to realise sudden problems within the company – that will likely adversely impact share price and ability of the company to continue.
Of course, we can look to the recent past to see the negative impacts of companies that are not well run or have tried to pull a fast one on investors here. S Chips have gotten a bad reputation as a result of accounting and financial scandals several Chinese-based companies have had in the past. More recently, the penny stock saga that saw billions of dollars wiped out from the stock market in just three days is another scenario no investor wants to relive.
Also Read: These 5 Singapore-Listed Stocks Fell To Zero (Or Nearly There) And What Happened To Them
#1 CapitaLand Limited
Listed on the Straits Times Index (STI), making it one of the top 30 listed companies in Singapore, CapitaLand spearheads corporate governance, transparency, shareholder communications and sustainability.
The Group has at least six listed entities under its umbrella on the SGX. On its website, it also claims to be one of the first companies in Singapore to voluntarily publish its sustainability reports according to the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) Guidelines in 2009, and all its reports are benchmarked against international standards and frameworks, and are externally validated.
At the SIAS Investors’ Choice Awards, it scooped up the Singapore Corporate Governance Award (Golden Circle) and Singapore Corporate Governance Award (Big Cap). The company, and its other listed entities, collected seven awards at this year’s ceremony.
Also Read: These 10 Listed Companies In Singapore Pretty Much Own Everything: (Part 2: 1-5)
With a market capitalisation of $15.3 billion, CapitaLand is indeed one of the biggest companies in Singapore. In the past 52 weeks, it has delivered a return of close to 17.3%. The company also gives out a dividend of close to 2.8% per annum.
#2 Tuan Sing Holdings Limited
Tuan Sing won the Singapore Corporate Governance Award (Mid Cap). Primarily in the property development, investment and hotel ownership, the company has over 60 subsidiaries and associates across South East Asia, China and Australia.
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On its website, it also posted in-depth information on its sustainability initiatives. This includes its supply chain, investor relations, environmental initiatives, labour practices and community involvement.
With a market capitalisation of $439.2 million, Tuan Sing has delivered a 52-week return of 32.2%. It also pays out a dividend yield of 1.6% per annum.
#3 Sing Investments & Finance Limited
Sing Investments & Finance (SIF) won the Singapore Corporate Governance Award (Small Cap). With more than 40 years of experience in the financing field, the company has built up a reputation for being a trusted finance companies.
SIF offers housing, commercial property, car, machinery, shipping, land & construction as well as many other types of loans to its customers. At the other end of the spectrum, it also takes in fixed deposits, savings and offers safe deposit boxes.
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On its website, it highlights its risk management committee, showing it strongly believes in upholding robust guidelines for the benefit of all shareholders and other stakeholders.
With a market capitalisation of $242.7 million, SIF has delivered a return of 40.3% in the past 52 weeks. It also pays out a dividend of 3.3% per annum.
#4 Boustead Projects Limited
Boustead Projects won the Singapore Corporate Governance Award (Newly Listed). As stated in its award, the group, with core expertise in engineering solutions in design-and-build and development of industrial facilities, recently listed on the SGX Mainboard on 30 April 2015.
The group is a 51%-owned subsidiary of Boustead Singapore Limited, an SGX-listed global infrastructure engineering and geo-spatial technology group.
On its website, it provides information regarding its services and partners as well as states its quality assurance and safety policies.
With a market capitalisation of $268.5 million and has delivered a return of 26.0% in the past 52 weeks. In addition, it also pays a dividend of 1.8% per annum on its current share price.
Read Also: 6 Nuggets about Industrial Properties That You Need To Know
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