Date: July 2, 2024
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
When David invited me to be the Patron-in-Chief for SIAS six years ago, I gladly accepted as I was familiar with the history of the association and the vital role SIAS has played in shaping the Singapore corporate landscape over the years.
After SIAS managed to resolve the CLOB crisis in 2000, SIAS expanded its role into investor education and took on the challenge of promoting and tracking good corporate governance in the local market. However, although it assumed new functions to stay relevant, it did not lose sight of its original objective of upholding the rights of small shareholders and giving them an effective voice when problems or disputes arose.
In order to effectively represent those shareholders, SIAS evolved an approach wholly unique to Singapore.
SIAS chose to adopt the tripartism approach to resolving shareholders issues.
This revolves around the slogan “in the boardroom, not the courtroom’’ and is founded on the belief that dispute resolution is best pursued through collaboration, discussion and negotiation rather than through confrontation, aggression and belligerence.
In our Singapore culture, this conciliatory approach has proven to be very effective.
I have closely watched the progress SIAS has made in protecting the rights of small investors and am happy to note that SIAS has grown from strength to strength.
For instance, SIAS’s intervention in some recent cases where privatisation offers were made at seemingly “lowball’’ offers eventually lead to upward revisions of those prices, whilst its active participation in those episodes would have surely educated all investors that there can be more than one way to approach the question of how to actually arrive at fair and reasonable prices.
I note that SIAS has expanded its protection efforts to include bondholders in addition to shareholders, as was the case involving troubled oil and gas companies several years ago.
On the education front, SIAS has become very active in organising regular Corporate Connect sessions aimed at raising public awareness of lesser-known companies that may not be covered by the stockbroking community or mainstream press.
In so doing, it has given these firms a voice and platform to be seen and heard whilst presenting the investing public with greater investment choices.
On top of this, SIAS’s regular educational classes have benefited thousands of individuals and have taught them to adopt a disciplined approach to investing instead of relying on tips and rumours.
In terms of promoting good corporate governance, I note that SIAS’s articles published in the Straits Times and Business Times on the responsibilities of directors and the importance of observing the spirit as well as the letter of the Code of Corporate Governance have helped spread greater awareness of the need for companies to conduct their businesses with integrity.
As a further service to the public, SIAS’s questions on the annual reports of listed companies, covering corporate strategy, financial performance and governance sent to hundreds of companies prior to their Annual General Meetings, have been invaluable in helping shareholders understand the main issues confronting their companies before they attend the meetings.
In short, I am pleased to see SIAS maintaining its momentum in driving forward on its three pillars – protection of minority interests, educating and empowering investors and the promotion of good corporate governance.
However, whilst I am privileged and proud to have served as SIAS’s Patron-in-Chief, it is with regret that now I have to step down from my role supporting SIAS as I am now 84 and would like to retire from my public appointments.
SIAS turns 25 years old this year, which is a remarkable achievement given the limited resources which it started off with.
Thanks to its unrelenting efforts in doing what is right for the local market, it has survived and thrived.
I wish SIAS continued success and progress for many more years.
Thank you.
