SGX makes push for full disclosure of CEO pay

There has been a global push for more transparency on executive pay. BT PHOTO: YENG MEN JIN

SINGAPORE - The Singapore Exchange is planning changes to its corporate disclosure rules, including asking companies to reveal exactly how much their chief executive officers are paid.

The Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo), the bourse's regulatory arm, will consult the market on requiring disclosures for the remuneration of CEOs and directors, according to a statement.

It will also propose imposing a nine-year cap on the tenure of independent directors. It did not provide a timeline for either consultation.

There has been a global push for more transparency on executive pay, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission last month introducing a rule requiring disclosure of additional details such as performance incentives.

Singapore is also seeking to change low board renewal at local companies, where it is common to see independent directors (IDs) in their positions for about a decade or longer.

"I am quite disappointed with how companies have approached the whole long-serving IDs matter," SGX RegCo CEO Tan Boon Gin said at a briefing.

Meanwhile, "remuneration disclosures remain poor", with companies citing competition as the reason, he added.

Only 5 per cent of companies fully disclosed the remuneration amount in dollar value paid to both directors and CEOs on a named basis, with breakdowns for salary, bonus and benefits, according to a review by KPMG of the Code of Corporate Governance disclosures for Singapore-listed companies. The review's findings were released in June.

The Singapore regulator is making a push for companies to become more conscious of environmental, social and governance issues, also requiring mandatory climate-related disclosures as well as those around board diversity. BLOOMBERG

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