Singapore, 16 January 2018… The Corporate Governance Council (Council) today released a consultation paper on its recommendations to revise the Code of Corporate Governance (Code). The recommendations aim to support sustained corporate performance and innovation, and strengthen investor confidence in our capital markets.

2   The Council believes that a well-rounded board with the appropriate mix of skills, experience and independence is critical to good corporate governance. Hence, a key focus of the Code revisions is to reinforce board competencies through encouraging board renewal, strengthening director independence and enhancing board diversity. Other proposed Code revisions include greater emphasis on disclosures of the relationship between remuneration and value creation, and the need for companies to consider and balance the needs of all stakeholders.

3   Beyond Code revisions, the Council is also proposing to clarify the intent of the comply-or-explain regime and the expectations on listed companies’ corporate governance disclosures. Given the importance of a conducive eco-system to support companies in implementing good corporate governance practices, the Council is recommending the establishment of an industry-led Corporate Governance Advisory Committee.

4   The Council’s key recommendations are summarised in the Annex. Consequential amendments to the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) Listing Rules are also set out in the consultation paper. These are baseline corporate governance requirements that the Council expects all listed companies to comply with.

5   Mr Chew Choon Seng, Council Chairman, said, “The package of recommendations takes into account the changing business environment and the diverse views of various stakeholder groups that the Council has engaged. The streamlined Code is shorter and concise. It seeks to encourage companies to move away from a compliance mindset and adopt thoughtful corporate governance practices that will best support their long-term business objectives.”

6   The Council and SGX invites interested parties to submit their feedback on the recommendations by 15 March 2018.  A copy of the consultation paper is available on the MAS website.

Issued by the Secretariat, Corporate Governance Council
c/o Monetary Authority of Singapore

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Note to Editor

The Corporate Governance Council (Council) was established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in February 2017 to review the Code of Corporate Governance (Code), consider how the comply-or-explain regime could be made more effective, and propose mechanisms to monitor the progress made by listed companies in strengthening their corporate governance practices. The Code was last reviewed in 2012.