Media Releases
Published Date: 06 August 2018

Corporate Governance Council submits final recommendations to strengthen corporate governance in Singapore

Singapore, 6 August 2018… The Corporate Governance Council (Council) today submitted to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, its final recommendations on revisions to the Code of Corporate Governance (Code). The recommendations aim to encourage companies to innovate and grow, and strengthen investor confidence in our capital markets. The Council’s final recommendations are summarised in Annex A and the infographic in Annex B.

2   The Council has also issued its response to feedback received from the public consultation1. The response to feedback on consequential amendments to the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) Listing Rules are also set out in the response paper.

3   The recommended revisions to the Code and SGX Listing Rules seek to enhance board quality by strengthening board independence and diversity, and encourage better engagement between companies and their shareholders as well as other stakeholders. To foster long-term commitment by companies, professionals, investors and regulators towards improving corporate governance standards, the Council also recommends the establishment of an industry-led Corporate Governance Advisory Committee2.

4   Mr Chew Choon Seng, Council Chairman, said, “The Council had robust discussions over the last year to balance the perspectives of the various stakeholder groups. We have refined the recommendations in relation to director independence and board composition after taking into consideration feedback from the public consultation. We believe that the final recommendations will lead to constructive and purposeful corporate governance practices and help companies sustain long-term success amidst the fast changing business environment. The Council would like to thank all respondents for providing their feedback during the public consultation.”  

5   Please refer to the MAS website for the Council and SGX’s response to the feedback received.

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

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Notes 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 revised in 2012.

1 The Council’s public consultation on its recommendations to revise the Code was conducted between January and March 2018. A copy of the consultation paper is available on the MAS website.

2 Details on the Corporate Governance Advisory Committee will be announced in due course.