SINGAPORE - Keppel Corp announced on Wednesday (Feb 19) that it has been upgraded in February 2020 to a triple-A rating in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings.

This is an improvement from its previous double-A rating given in September 2019.

The MSCI ESG ratings aim to measure companies' resilience to long-term ESG risks and their ability to manage those risks relative to their peers.

Companies are rated on a scale of AAA to CCC relative to the standards and performance of industry peers.

MSCI's rating methodology looks at key issues pertinent to a particular company's industry.

Keppel was identified as 'average' in the issues of corruption and instability as well as health and safety.

However, it was rated an 'ESG leader' for corporate governance, labour management and for opportunities in clean technology.

It was not lagging behind the industry in any key issues evaluated.

With this rating, Keppel now ranks among the top 11 per cent of industrial conglomerates, based on ESG criteria, in the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI), MSCI's global equity benchmark which covers more than 3,000 stocks.

Mr Loh Chin Hua, CEO of Keppel Corporation, said, "We are encouraged that Keppel's sustainability efforts have been internationally recognised. We have adopted sustainability as the core of our strategy, and we carefully consider ESG issues in our strategic and investment decisions. We firmly believe that a company that is aligned with the global sustainable development agenda can not only enhance its social licence to operate, but also improve the sustainability, resilience and competitiveness of its business."