Latest news with #SGTI
Business Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Good governance for vibrant capital markets: towards a market-centric dynamic index
IN 2024, the Singapore Governance and Transparency Index (SGTI) was re-introduced as a dynamic index designed to reflect continuous changes in sustainable corporate governance regulations and practices. The index placed greater emphasis on ESG, increasing both the number of sustainability-related questions and its overall weighting. Building on this foundation, SGTI 2025 further expands this framework by incorporating additional sustainability disclosures, including climate reporting. SGTI 2025 had a mean score of 70.9 points out of a maximum achievable score of 143 points. The base score covers five dimensions: Board Responsibilities (35 points), Rights of Shareholders (10 points), ESG and Stakeholders (20 points), Accountability and Audit (10 points), and Disclosure and Transparency (25 points). The final score is derived from the base score and an adjustment for bonuses and penalties. (See also box titled 'How scoring for the Index is done'). Companies show the strongest performance in disclosures relating to shareholder rights (mean normalised score of 87 per cent), followed by sustainability-related matters and accountability and audit (both having a mean normalised score of 68 per cent). (See below.) Companies could further improve their sustainability reporting by advancing their sustainability targets beyond the short term. Targets are one of the primary components required of sustainability reports and, according to SGX Practice Note 7.6, should be considered for the short-, medium- and long-term. Progress needed on ESG targets and climate risks Over 80 per cent of companies disclose quantitative sustainability targets for the next year. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up But only two-thirds of companies disclose such targets for the mid- to long-term. Short-term targets are important and necessary because they show that companies are taking specific, concrete actions towards sustainability. This enables them to make some immediate progress, which in turn can help to strengthen investor confidence. However, longer-term targets are equally important, allowing companies to address more complex sustainability issues. Such targets facilitate a more strategic approach to sustainability, integrating it with long-term business growth and risk-management strategies. This helps to demonstrate companies' ongoing commitment to sustainability and can help them to avoid accusations of greenwashing. (See below.) Another area in which companies could improve their sustainable corporate governance is in their climate reporting. Again, over 80 per cent of companies identify climate change as a material issue and disclose their processes for identifying and assessing climate-related risks. Fewer companies go further to report how they are managing their climate-related risks and opportunities. Transparency in climate reporting means not only identifying risks, but also explaining how those risks are being addressed, and how opportunities are being leveraged. Limited disclosures may hinder investors and other stakeholders from gaining the comprehensive understanding needed for assessing how effectively the company is addressing climate-related risks, opportunities and evolving standards. Value measures for market-centric assessment The national initiative to revitalise Singapore's equities market has gained significant attention. A recent review of it led to the announcement of several measures aimed at enhancing trading liquidity. Among these was the intention to move Singapore to a more disclosure-based regime. This requires key stakeholders to actively assume their roles and responsibilities. For issuers, this includes upholding and strengthening corporate governance, and giving renewed attention to shareholder value creation. The next phase of SGTI will take these two priorities as a starting point. On the one hand, assessment of corporate governance disclosures and practices will continue to be the mainstay of the index. On the other, we propose adding a new dimension, reflecting the fact that creating value for shareholders is a fundamental objective of corporate governance. Specifically, we propose including value-related indicators based on financial statements or stock-related data, either separately or in combination. Some of these could include return on equity, net profit margin, leverage, price-earnings ratio, price-to-book ratio or the enterprise multiple (enterprise value / earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation). (See below.) Indicators based on specific aspects such as dividend yield could also be included. These value measures would account for 25 per cent of the total SGTI score, with disclosure-based assessment making up the remaining 75 per cent. Assessment for Reits and business trusts would follow a similar framework, although they would continue to have additional coverage of trust-specific items (structure, leverage, interested-person transactions, competency of Reit manager or trustee-manager, and emoluments). By incorporating company performance on market-related indicators, SGTI would have the potential to uncover value stocks that possess both good governance and market-related performance metrics. Since SGTI assesses all issuers, it could also support the broader efforts to place greater focus on small- and mid-cap companies. Beyond ESG to EESG This also allows for a wider consideration of sustainability, going beyond ESG to EESG, where the first 'E' refers to economics. Much of sustainability has focused on ESG factors. However, economics is also a key dimension, because corporate sustainability requires financial viability. Also, shareholders are a company's primary stakeholder group. A more market-oriented assessment would better assess the degree to which their interests are being upheld, not just by evaluating transparency and disclosures, but also by considering financial outcomes. Sustainable corporate governance is not only about what is disclosed; it is also about what is delivered. CGS invites comments on this proposal. Please send your suggestions to cgs@ Comments are requested by Sep 30, 2025. How scoring for the Index is done SGTI is a unified framework comprising two separate categories, namely the General Category and the Reit and Business Trust Category. These categories are distinct and are not to be compared directly with each other. For the General Category, the SGTI score has two components: the base score and the adjustment for bonuses and penalties. The base score for companies contains five sections ('BREAD'): Board responsibilities [35 points]; Rights of shareholders [10 points]; ESG and stakeholders [20 points]; Accountability and audit [10 points]; and Disclosure and transparency [25 points]. The aggregate of bonuses and penalties is incorporated into the base score to arrive at the company's SGTI total score. In the Reit and Business Trust Category, the companies are evaluated on a similar set of criteria, but with added coverage on the unique nature of their operations. The base score for Reits and business trusts includes items in the base score for the SGTI (converted to 75 points), as well as trust-specific items for Reits and business trusts (25 points). These cover five aspects ('SLICE'): Structure; Leverage; Interested-person transactions; Competency of the Reit manager/trustee-manager; and Emoluments. SGTI 2025 covers 467 Singapore-listed companies in the General Category and 42 Reits and business trusts which released their annual reports by May 31, 2025. The sources of information for SGTI assessment included annual reports, sustainability reports, Web sites and announcements on SGXNet. Announcements made on SGXNet and media coverage between Jan 1, 2023 and Apr 30, 2025 were used to update the scores. The SGTI assessment was conducted independently with an in-house research team at the Centre for Government and Sustainability (CGS) and guidance from an external advisory panel. Further information on the scoring methodology, including the full instrument, and past results may be obtained from CGS' website at Queries about the SGTI may be sent to cgs@ In order to maintain independence and fairness of the SGTI, reports or advice cannot be provided to individual companies. Expand Lawrence Loh, Nguyen Hanh Trang, Nguyen Thi Thuy and Annette Singh are respectively director, senior research analyst, senior research associate and principal research associate of the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the NUS Business School.
Business Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Singapore companies improve slightly on corporate governance; Sats retains top spot in key index
[SINGAPORE] Companies listed on the Singapore Exchange have slightly improved their corporate governance practices and transparency in financial disclosures, going by an annual scorecard developed by industry and accounting bodies as well as academics. The Singapore Governance and Transparency Index (SGTI) scores for 2025, released on Wednesday (Aug 13), showed that companies in the general category received 70.9 points out of a theoretical maximum of 143 points. This was marginally higher than the 69.3 points they scored in 2024. As for the real estate investment trust (Reit) and business trust category, the mean score stood at 90.2 points, higher than the 86.6 points last year. While ground handler and caterer Sats has retained its top spot in the 2025 rankings, its overall score of 114.1 is lower than the 118 points it got last year. In the Reits and business trust category, CapitaLand Ascott Trust has once again maintained its No 1 spot with 108.6 points, improving from its overall score of 104 points in 2024. The assessment was jointly conducted by CPA Australia, the National University of Singapore Business School's Centre for Governance and Sustainability, and the Singapore Institute of Directors. The Business Times was the strategic media partner for the study.
USA Today
18-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Giving Businesses a Voice Through Acumen Media's Sustainable Global Trade Initiative (SGTI)
Jason Phillips Contributor Hear this story For years, the conversation around sustainability has been dominated by a singular focus: going green. Companies across industries have scrambled to reduce carbon footprints, embrace renewable energy, and eliminate waste; all in pursuit of a more environmentally friendly future. While these efforts are crucial, one fundamental element has often been overlooked: economic sustainability. Without financial resilience, businesses cannot survive, let alone contribute to global progress. Acumen Media, an international media company specializing in thought leadership and storytelling through video, is launching its Sustainable Global Trade Initiative (SGTI) to address this gap. With the backing of research foundations as well as major global institutions, Acumen's initiative will shed light on the importance of sustainable global trade; not in the environmental sense, but rather with a focus on long-term economic viability. 'Sustainability isn't just about the planet; it's about people and prosperity, too. If businesses can't sustain themselves economically, their impact—no matter how green—won't last,' says Jack Boyson, Acumen's Chief Marketing Officer. Through a series of thought leadership-driven films, Acumen will highlight businesses worldwide that are striking a balance between economic survival and responsible growth. The campaign aims to educate both businesses and consumers on why companies make the financial decisions they do; decisions often misunderstood or unfairly scrutinized. Many regulations and supply chain decisions that may appear counterintuitive to the average consumer are often the result of necessary trade-offs between sustainability goals and economic practicality. For instance, plastic wrapping extends a cucumber's shelf life from a few days to several weeks, significantly reducing food waste. Such decisions are not to ignore sustainability but to find a balance between environmental responsibility and economic feasibility. Andy Chan, Acumen's Managing Director and a filmmaker, states, 'With SGTI, we want to show the human side of businesses: the real dilemmas, the unseen regulatory hurdles, and the calculated risks they take to remain sustainable in every sense of the word. Video storytelling is magical because it allows people to connect emotionally and understand complex topics in a simple, digestible way.' Through interviews, case studies, and in-depth video storytelling, SGTI will focus on sixteen key pillars that are critical to both economic prosperity and global trade sustainability. Compliance & regulation is one of the key pillars amongst them. Businesses must navigate an increasingly complex landscape of international trade laws and sustainability mandates. Understanding these regulations helps consumers and stakeholders appreciate the constraints companies operate within. Innovation is at the heart of economic growth, but companies often face challenges protecting their ideas while maintaining fair competition. That is why Acumen considers intellectual property as another key pillar. Ethical governance, on the other hand, plays a key role for any business, fostering transparency to further promote inclusivity and ensure trade is conducted ethically and equitably. Economic downturns, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical shifts threaten business continuity. Resilience & risk management as a pillar explores how companies prepare for and adapt to such risks. Acumen even understands that digital impact has been a key driver, and companies must balance technological transformation with responsible business practices. 'The more consumers understand the 'why' behind business decisions, the more balanced the conversation becomes. We're here to provide that perspective,' says Andy. Acumen truly believes that video is the key to making these complex trade issues accessible and compelling. With the rapid decline in attention spans and the dominance of digital media, businesses need more than just articles or reports to engage their audiences. 'Video allows people to see the human behind the business, to hear the conviction in their voice, to connect. People don't connect with corporations; they connect with people,' says Jack For small and medium-sized businesses, in particular, their video serves as a critical tool for brand credibility. Unlike established corporations with built-in reputations, SMBs must work harder to tell their story. Acumen's expertise in film production, distribution, and digital marketing ensures that these businesses can reach the right audiences with the right messaging. As per Paolo Emilio Zanini, CEO of Acumen, this SGTI is not just a one-off initiative. It is designed to become an ongoing movement. By continuously highlighting the challenges and triumphs of businesses navigating sustainable global trade, the company hopes to shift public perception and influence policy decisions. 'International trade doesn't just drive profits; it fosters peace,' says Zanini. 'When businesses collaborate across borders, it strengthens relationships between nations, creates economic interdependence, and reduces conflict. A thriving global economy isn't just good for businesses, it is good for society.' In a world where sustainability is often reduced to carbon footprints and recycling bins, Acumen is providing the missing half of the equation: a recognition that businesses must be economically viable to contribute to a better world. Through storytelling, video, and thought leadership, SGTI will ensure that businesses—large and small—have a platform to actually be understood. *Investing involves risk, and your investment may lose value. Past performance gives no indication of future results. These statements do not constitute and cannot replace investment advice.
