Singapore, 2 August 2023 – Singapore-listed companies and trusts have charted new records in governance and transparency, according to the 2023 Singapore Governance and Transparency Index (SGTI).
The SGTI scores have improved significantly in the General and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Business Trusts categories of listed entities. In the General Category, the score rose from 70.6 points in 2022 to 74.8 points in 2023. This represents the largest quantum increase since 2020, with Singapore Telecommunications reclaiming the top position that it held from 2015 to 2019. In the REIT and Business Trust Category, the score increased from 85.3 points to 89.3 points this year. CapitaLand Ascott Trust continues to helm the top position in this category.
Cheung Pui Yuen, Singapore Divisional President, CPA Australia said, “The record performance in the 2023 SGTI scores is a testament to the unwavering commitment of Singapore Exchange-listed companies and trusts to greater transparency and accountability. Strong corporate governance is paramount to driving sustainable growth in organisations and protecting the interests of stakeholders.”
The substantial increase in SGTI scores reflects the commitment of Singapore’s publicly-listed companies and REITs/Business Trusts to continually improve their corporate governance disclosures and practices.
Professor Lawrence Loh, Director of Centre for Governance and Sustainability, National University of Singapore Business School, said, “This year’s improvement in the index score is most noteworthy. It reflects the ongoing efforts by companies to promote good corporate governance practices. More importantly, it highlights that the foundation for governance has been built and companies are poised to place their emphasis on sustainability going forward. Indeed, sustainable business practices will be most crucial for long-term value creation and stakeholder trust.”
The SGTI is an annual study jointly conducted by CPA Australia, the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School’s Centre for Governance and Sustainability (CGS) and the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID). The index ranks SGX-listed companies on their corporate government practices as well as the timeliness, accessibility and transparency of their financial disclosures. The assessment framework has been continuously reviewed and updated to align with the latest leading practices in corporate governance.
This year’s index involves a holistic assessment of corporate governance disclosures and practices of 474 Singapore-listed companies in the General Category and 43 trusts in the REIT and Business Trust Category. These companies and trusts released their annual reports by 31 May 2023.
Wong Su-Yen, Chair of Singapore Institute of Directors, said, “Good governance and transparency are the bedrock of Singapore’s success. They serve as catalysts for fostering investor confidence, attracting capital inflows and enabling sustainable growth. The improved SGTI scores are signs of a more resilient ecosystem as we collectively strive to move the needle to greater accountability and sustainability reporting.”
Findings for the General Category
In the General Category, Singapore Telecommunications is in leading position in the SGTI 2023 ranking. DBS Group Holdings and SATS are tied for second place.
Among the top-ranking companies, United Overseas Bank has maintained its fourth-place position from the previous year, while City Developments and Singapore Exchange are in joint fifth. Keppel Corporation has advanced from ninth to seventh spot, and Del Monte Pacific enters the top 10 rankings, rising from twelfth to eighth position. Both Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and Singapore Post have dropped from seventh to eighth position.
The overall scoring system of the General Category comprises five pillars, also known as BREAD Framework: Board Responsibility, Rights of Shareholders, Engagement of Stakeholders, Accountability and Audit, and Disclosure and Transparency. In 2023, scores across all five pillars showed an overall increase. Among them, the proportion of companies disclosing stakeholder engagement practices experienced the most significant rise, with mean scores increasing by nine percentage points to reach 70%. The remaining pillars saw mean scores increase by four percentage points, except for Accountability & Audit, which had a smaller increase of three percentage points.
In addition to base scores, bonuses are awarded to affirm better corporate governance disclosures by companies. The mean bonus continues to show an upward trend, increasing at an average rate of approximately one point per year. Starting from 11.6 points in 2020, the mean bonus reached 14.8 points in 2023. Penalties, on the other hand, remained unchanged at a mean of 9.3 points in 2023.
Findings for the REIT and Business Trust Category
The top-ranked REITs/Business Trusts in 2023 have generally remained consistent with the previous year. CapitaLand Ascott Trust has maintained its top position, while Far East Hospitality Trust and CapitaLand Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust are ranked second and third respectively. Notably, CapitaLand India Trust enters the top five rankings for the first time, claiming the fourth spot and displacing CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, which now ranks fifth.
This year marks the seventh year of SGTI assessment for REITs and Business Trusts since its launch in 2017. The scores obtained in 2023 reflect a significant improvement. Over the period from 2020 to 2022, the mean score gradually progressed from 84.8 to 85.0 to 85.3. In 2023, there was a notable four-point increase, resulting in a total mean score of 89.3 points.
The improvement can be attributed to an increase in the mean base score, rising from 71.5 in 2022 to 73.4 in 2023, along with a corresponding decrease in the mean penalty points from 5.4 in 2022 to 3.8 in 2023. In contrast, mean bonus points remained relatively stable, at 19.7 points in 2023.
Annex 1: SGTI Scoring Description Annex 2: Ranking of Top 10 Companies for SGTI 2023 Annex 3: Ranking of Top REITs and Business Trusts for SGTI 2023 Annex 4: Corporate Governance Scoring Trend 2009-2023 Annex 5: REITs and Business Trusts Scoring Trend 2017-2023 Annex 6: Comparison of SGTI General Category 2023 and 2022 overall scores Annex 7: Comparison of SGTI REITs and Business Trusts 2023 and 2022 overall scores Annex 8: Summary of SGTI Scores 2019- 2023 in the BREAD Framework
For media enquiries, please contact:
Kristy TEO Marketing and Communications Manager CPA Australia Tel: +65 6671 6527 Email: kristy.teo@cpaaustralia.com.au
Natalie LAW Assistant Manager, Corporate Communications NUS Business School National University of Singapore Tel: +65 6601 1206 Email: natalielaw@nus.edu.sg
YANG Wai Wai Head, Communications and Research Singapore Institute of Directors Tel: +65 6011 0102 Email: waiwai.yang@sid.org.sg
About CPA Australia
CPA Australia is one of the largest professional accounting bodies in the world, with more than 172,000 members in over 100 countries and regions, including more than 8,600 members in Singapore. CPA Australia has been operating in Singapore since 1954. Our core services include education, training, technical support and advocacy. CPA Australia provides thought leadership on local, national and international issues affecting the accounting profession and public interest. We engage with governments, regulators and industries to advocate policies that stimulate sustainable economic growth and have positive business and public outcomes. Find out more at cpaaustralia.com.au
About Centre for Governance and Sustainability (CGS)
The Centre for Governance and Sustainability (CGS) was established by the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School in 2010. It aims to spearhead relevant and high-impact research on corporate governance and corporate sustainability issues that are pertinent to institutions, government bodies and businesses in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific. Spearheading thought leadership, CGS conducts public lectures, industry roundtables, and academic conferences on topics related to governance and sustainability. CGS is the national assessor for the corporate sustainability and corporate governance performance of listed companies in Singapore. In tandem with growing demands from consumers and investors that financial returns are achieved with integrity, backed with environmental and social considerations, CGS has a slew of research focusing on sustainability reporting in Asia Pacific, sustainable banking, nature reporting, and climate reporting in ASEAN. More information about CGS can be accessed at https://bschool.nus.edu.sg/cgs/
NUS Business School is known for providing management thought leadership from an Asian perspective, enabling its students and corporate partners to leverage global knowledge and Asian insights.
The school is one of the 16 faculties and schools at NUS. A leading global university centred in Asia, NUS is Singapore’s flagship university which offers a global approach to education, research and entrepreneurship, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. Its transformative education includes a broad-based curriculum underscored by multi-disciplinary courses and cross-faculty enrichment. Over 40,000 students from 100 countries enrich the community with their diverse social and cultural perspectives.
For more information, please visit bschool.nus.edu.sg, or go to the BIZBeat portal which showcases the School’s research.
About Singapore Institute of Directors
The Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) is Singapore’s national association for company directors. Established in 1998, our mission is to transform boards and empower board directors to be champions of good governance. SID works with regulators and partners to serve as the voice for directors and facilitates consultations and feedback sessions on regulatory matters. In advocating for good governance, SID advances thought leadership and benchmarking research and indices on corporate governance and directorship issues.
SID builds competencies and capabilities to enhance boardroom skills of directors for informed decision-making. An accreditation programme serves to set standards for and showcase best practices of good governance. The organisation supports members on their directorship journey with courses, workshops, advanced masterclasses, forum discussions and pit-stops. SID connects and strengthens the ecosystem with initiatives such as mentoring and networking. The Governance for Good Alliance is an initiative by SID to bring together key stakeholders who help advance our vision for every board director to be a champion of good governance.
For more information, please visit the website and LinkedIn page.
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Annex 1: SGTI Scoring Description
The Singapore Governance and Transparency Index (SGTI) evaluates companies on their corporate governance practices and disclosures, as well as the timeliness, and transparency of their financial results. Beginning 2017, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Business Trusts have been assessed as well.
The SGTI is a joint initiative of CPA Australia, NUS Business School’s Centre for Governance and Sustainability (CGS), and Singapore Institute of Directors, supported by The Business Times.
The SGTI score has two components: the base score and the adjustment for bonuses and penalties. The base score for companies contains five pillars: board responsibilities (35 points), rights of shareholders (20 points), engagement of stakeholders (10 points), accountability and audit (10 points), and disclosure and transparency (25 points). The aggregate of bonuses and penalties is incorporated to the base score to arrive at the company’s SGTI total score.
The SGTI also evaluates REITs and Business Trusts on a similar criteria, but with added coverage on the unique nature of their operations. The base score for REITs and Business Trusts includes: questions in the base score for the SGTI (75 points) and additional questions in the base score for the SGTI for REITs and Business Trusts (25 points) that focus on structure, leverage, interested person transactions, competency of REIT manager / trusteemanager, and emoluments. A total of 474 Singapore-listed companies and 43 REITs and Business Trusts which released their annual reports by 31 May 2023 were included for the SGTI 2023. The sources of information for SGTI assessment include annual reports, sustainability reports, websites, and announcements on the SGX website. Announcements made on the SGX website as well as in media coverage, which occurred between 1 January 2021 and 31 May 2023, have been used to update the scores.
Further information on the scoring methodology, including the full instrument, and past results may be obtained from CGS’s website at https://bschool.nus.edu.sg/ CGS Queries about the SGTI may be sent to cgs@nus.edu.sg. In order to maintain independence and fairness of the SGTI, reports or advice cannot be provided to individual companies.
Annex 2: Ranking of Top 10 Companies for SGTI 2023
Annex 3: Ranking of Top REITs and Business Trusts for SGTI 2023
Annex 4: Corporate Governance Scoring Trend 2009 – 2023
Annex 5: REITs and Business Trusts Scoring Trend 2017-2023
Annex 6: Comparison of SGTI General Category 2023 and 2022 overall scores
Annex 7: Comparison of SGTI REITs and Business Trusts 2023 and 2022 overall scores
Annex 8: Summary of SGTI Scores 2019 – 2023 in the BREAD Framework
