ANNUAL REPORT 2014/2015

Transcription

1 ANNUAL REPORT 2014/2015 Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations NUS Business School, National University of Singapore, Biz 2 Building #05-01, 1 Business Link, Singapore Tel: (65) cgio@nus.edu.sg Website:

2 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015 CONTENTS 1 Director s Statement 2 4 Board of Directors, Industry Advisory Council, and Academic Advisory Council 5 7 Centre Directors, Affiliated Researchers, and Centre Staff 8 9 Academic Activities 10 Industry Outreach Events Applied Research Projects 15 Media Coverage 16 Our Strategic Partners CENTRE PROFILE The Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations (CGIO) was established in 2011 to research critical governance issues and provide an important platform for the exchange of ideas and best practices between academics and practitioners on governance issues significant to Asia. MISSION To be an intellectual hub in issues related to governance, institutions and organisations. VISION To contribute to the sustainable development of Asian societies and economies through thought leadership in areas of corporate governance, institutions and OBJECTIVES Conduct and publish high-quality academic research that is also relevant to practice and policy-making Disseminate best practices and have a positive impact on governance, and the development of Asian societies Host forums, seminars and conferences on issues related to governance institutions and organisations

3 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page 1 DIRECTOR S STATEMENT It has been another bountiful year for the Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations (CGIO) in terms of research, particularly in publications, seminars and industry outreach. We had six applied research projects as well as eleven conferences and industry outreach programs. We were honoured to have hosted distinguished academics and scholars from prestigious universities abroad to exchange ideas and thoughts. Notably, our research on Governance and Transparency Index (GTI) 2014 and ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS) 2014 generated much attention and created front page headline news. In addition, family businesses and state-owned enterprises were topics that engendered the deepest thought and most invigorating debates. The great work put in by the team at CGIO is all the more memorable when we celebrated NUS Business School s 50th Anniversary, which coincidentally also marks Singapore s 50 years of independence. CGIO continues to be committed to its vision as an intellectual hub that contributes thought leadership on corporate governance and institutional development in Asia to create a better understanding of how to build and sustain well-governed organisations and institutions. It proactively disseminates guidance on best practices, organises forums, seminars and conferences on corporate governance issues for business practitioners and academics, and aims to have a positive impact on business governance and the development of Asian societies by training professionals. We are proud that we contribute ultimately to the development of our society, particularly in Asia and Singapore, so that some of our ideas can lead to better professional practices and better businesses. Associate Professor Lawrence Loh Director, CGIO

4 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page 2 BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIRMAN MEMBER MEMBER Professor Bernard YEUNG Dean NUS Business School Ravi KANT Former Vice-Chairman Tata Motors LIM Joo Boon Chairman Pteris Global Limited MEMBER MEMBER Navtej S. NANDRA President E* TRADE Financial Corporation Professor Kulwant SINGH Head, Department of Strategy and Policy NUS Business School

5 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page 3 INDUSTRY ADVISORY COUNCIL Reiko AKIKE Partner & Managing Director Boston Consulting Group (Japan) John LIM Kok Min Immediate Past Chairman of the Singapore Institute of Directors Shalabh MITTAL Managing Director & CEO Mercator Lines (Singapore) Mita NATARAJAN Senior Vice President, Head Issuer Services, Singapore Exchange Juanita WOODWARD Founding President, PrimeTime Business and Professional Women's Association YANG Yuelin Managing Director (Transport Logistics) Group General Counsel, IMC Industrial Group

6 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page 4 ACADEMIC ADVISORY COUNCIL Professor Michael CARNEY Concordia University Professor Jerry DAVIS University of Michigan Professor HUANG Yasheng Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Tarun KHANNA Harvard Business School Professor Bruce KOGUT Columbia University Professor Randall MORCK University of Alberta Professor Steen THOMSEN Copenhagen Business School

7 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page 5 CENTRE DIRECTORS Associate Professor Lawrence Loh Director Lawrence Loh is Associate Professor and Deputy Head of Strategy and Policy at NUS Business School of National University of Singapore. He has been leading CGIO s flagship corporate governance projects such as the Governance and Transparency Index (GTI) and ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS) as the Principal Investigator. Dr Loh received a PhD in Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His doctoral thesis was awarded top prize in the worldwide Doctoral Dissertation Competition in the field of Information Systems. He was Professor and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Al Ghurair University in Dubai, UAE. Earlier, he has held various senior management positions at NUS as well as the Business School and its research centres. Dr Loh has also served as chief consultant for policy projects in several government agencies and international organisations. He has published in international journals including Management Science, Information Systems Research and Journal of Management Information Systems, and has co-authored a book entitled The Quest for Global Quality: A Manifestation of Total Quality Management by Singapore Airlines published by Addison- Wesley. Associate Professor Marleen Dieleman Associate Director Marleen Dielemanis Associate Professor and Associate Director of CGIO at NUS Business School in Singapore. She holds a Ph.D. from Leiden University and a master degree in business administration from Rotterdam School of Management, both in The Netherlands. Marleen teaches corporate strategy and her research interests are in Asian family businesses -in particular in Indonesia- and in the governance of Asian firms. She has published widely on these topics, including articles in academic journals, books, book chapters, cases and reports. Her work is featured regularly in international media such as the Financial Times and she is a frequent invited speaker on governance in Asia. Marleen also teaches in various executive education programs and has extensive consulting experience.

8 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page 6 SOME AFFILIATED RESEARCHERS FROM NUS BUSINESS SCHOOL (Please visit the full list) Professor CHANG Sea--Jin Associate Professor CHUNG Chi-Nien Associate Professor LAN Luh Luh Professor Vivien LIM Professor James LINCOLN Associate Professor Ishtiaq MAHMOOD Professor David Mitchell REEB Assistant Professor Markus TAUSSIG Ms Susan See THO

9 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page 7 CENTRE STAFF Admin Team Verity THOI Centre Manager Research Team Jamilah RAMLI Management Assistant Officer Wang YU Research Associate MUHAMMAD Ibrahim Senior Research Assistant Linh Thuy NGUYEN Research Assistant Mai Huong NGUYEN Research Assistant

10 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page 8 1. ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES CGIO organises annual academic conferences that attract top researchers such as renowned Professor Jerry Davis, Wilbur K. Pierpont Collegiate Professor of Management and of Sociology, University of Michigan, Professor Ruth V. Aguilera from University of Illinois to present, debate and enrich research on governance, family business and sustainable business models. Professor James Lincoln giving his keynote address at the August 2015 CGIO Academic Conference OVERVIEW OF ACADEMIC CONFERENCES ACADEMIC CONFERENCES and SEMINARS DATE TITLE 2 April 2014 Family Business Academic Conference (Theme: Cross-National Perspectives on Ownership and Governance in Family Firms August 2014 CGIO Academic Conference (Theme: Business Groups) 10 October 2014 The Effect of Forced Refocusing on the Value of Diversified Business Groups (Academic Seminar featuring Professor John G Matsusaka)

11 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page 9 1. Family Business Academic Conference 2 April 2014 The jointly organised conference with the journal Corporate Governance: An International Review (CGIR) attracted academics from top Singapore Universities as well as strong counterparts from US, EU, Canada, Australia and Asia. 2. Academic Conference August 2014 The Business Groups themed conference provided scholars with feedback on their current research projects in business groups. The purpose of the Conference was also to improve the quality of research and bring synergies with scholars working in a closely related field of research. 3. The Effect of Forced Refocusing on the Value of Diversified Business Groups 10 October 2014 This academic seminar featured Professor John Matsusaka from Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. Professor Matsusaka s paper studies how investors responded when Chinese regulators required a group of large, publicly traded companies to divest their non-core hotel and real estate assets in 2010.

12 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page INDUSTRY OUTREACH EVENTS CGIO regularly organises industry outreach events to provide a platform for the interaction among the best minds in academia, government and industry. The Centre also co-organises events with industry partners to facilitate the transfer of theoretical knowledge into best practices in corporate governance for the world. Panellists sharing their thoughts at the launch of CGIO s fourth Singapore Gender Diversity Report SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY OUTREACH EVENTS INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE& PRACTITIONER EVENTS (CO-) ORGANISED BY CGIO:8 DATE TITLE 3 April 2014 Family Business Roundtable Governance and Networks of Family Firms 4 April 2014 Singapore launch of the ASEAN CG scorecard 30 June 2014 State-Owned Enterprise Roundtable Can Singapore s Temasek model be replicated? 24 July 2014 Launch of GTI 2014 at CPA Forum: Quality Governance Your strategic Edge 29 August 2014 Family Business Roundtable The Diversification Dilemma 29 October 2014 Launch of Singapore Board Diversity Report February 2015 FBN Asia & NUS Breakfast Dialogue 6 March 2015 Launch of the Korn Ferry Diversity Scorecard 2015: Diversity Matters Adding Colour to Boards in APAC

13 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page APPLIED RESEARCH PROJECTS CGIO works with industry practitioners and regulators in applied research projects to generate output that is relevant to practice and policy-making. Through our project efforts, we aim to create and promote best practices amongst corporations, governments and academia. To date CGIO has undertaken several industry projects such as: APPLIED RESEARCH PROJECTS Governance and Transparency Index (GTI) 2014 Corporate Governance Highlights 2014 ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard Report & Assessments Singapore Board Diversity Report 2014 Korn Ferry Diversity Scorecard 2015: Diversity Matters Adding Colour to Boards in APAC State-Owned Enterprise Report 2014: The State as Shareholder: The Case of Singapore DESCRIPTION Published ranking of SGX-listed companies on their corporate governance practices and disclosures Emanating from the GTI, the report highlighted the trends and findings of GTI The ranking exercise of corporate governance of public-listed companies in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam Female representation on SGX-listed boardrooms as part of efforts to raise awareness on importance of board diversity The scorecard tracks the diversity performance of 10 economies in the Asia Pacific market, with special focus on gender representation on corporate boards. This report demonstrated how Governmentlinked Companies managed by Temasek Holdings sets the tone for governance standards in Singapore.

14 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page 12 Governance and Transparency Index (GTI) 2014 GTI 2014 marks the sixth year running of this corporate governance ranking exercise. Sponsored by CPA Australia and supported by The Business Times, the GTI has served as reference for public discussion on corporate governance related issues over the years. (Source: Business Times, 25 July 2014) CGIO, under the leadership of principal investigator, Associate Professor Lawrence Loh, undertakes the massive task of ranking all the SGX-listed companies based on their corporate governance practices and financial transparency. Companies are scored on four main domains: board matters, remuneration matters, accountability and audit, and transparency and investor relations. Bonus and penalty points are also incorporated into the base score to arrive at the company s overall GTI score. The results are based on annual reports for the financial year from January to December The GTI was launched at the CPA Forum on 24 July It received considerable attention from both the media and listed companies alike. Findings from the index saw an increase in corporate governance for top-ranking companies. There was also an increase in the standards of corporate governance and disclosure practices, with a mean score of 42.1 the highest score since inception. In October, CGIO released the third edition of the GTI report entitled Corporate Governance Highlights 2014: Realising Higher Corporate Governances Standards. The report highlighted governance trends and elaborated the findings of GTI, especially the notable issues in board leadership, remuneration disclosure as well as investor relations.

15 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page 13 ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard Report & Assessments MAS appointed CGIO and Singapore Institute of Directors (jointly a consortium)as Singapore s Domestic Ranking Body for the ASEAN Corporate Governance in this third round of assessment. The ASEAN Capital Markets Forum Working Group D is responsible for this initiative, comprising the ASEAN CG Scorecard and the ranking of ASEAN public-listed companies (PLCs) based on OECD principles. Companies were assessed on rights of shareholders, equitable treatment of shareholders, role of stakeholders, disclosure and transparency, and responsibilities of the board. The Scorecard is a tool for ASEAN PLCs to improve their corporate governance practices and increase their visibility and investability to global investors. The Scorecard and the ranking results can also be used by regulators as a reference for reviewing rules and guidelines in order to enhance CG practices amongst PLCs. Under the leadership of Professor Lawrence Loh, CGIO carried out the domestic ranking exercise on the 100 largest PLCs in Singapore and participated in regional ranking exercises for ASEAN PLCs. The ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard Country Report and Assessments , written by the domestic ranking bodies from each participating country, was released in July Singapore Board Diversity Report 2014 The Singapore Board Diversity Report The Diversity Dividend, authored by Associate Professor Marleen Dieleman, Assistant Professor Meijun Qian, and Muhammad Ibrahim, was launched on 29 October Running for the past four years through the generous sponsorship of UBS and SGX, this report is a joint initiative of CGIO and BoardAgender, an outreach arm of the Singapore Council of Women s Organisations. Key findings from the study revealed that only 8.3% of all board directors in Singapore were women in 2013, up marginally from 7.9% the year before and 6.9% in 2010, indicating the slow progress in boardroom gender diversity. The report also found companies with both genders, at least two ethnic groups and two generations represented in their boardrooms have significantly higher return on assets - they enjoy average gains of 5.1 per cent, compared to the average of 1.1 per cent in companies with none of these diversity indicators.

16 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page 14 Korn Ferry Diversity Scorecard 2015: Diversity Matters Adding Colour to Boards in APAC The 2015 report is the third in the Korn Ferry Diversity Scorecard series. The scorecard tracks the diversity performance of major economies in the Asia Pacific market, with special focus on gender representation on corporate boards. This report covers 10 economies: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea. CGIO selected the top 100 listed companies by market capitalisation for each country and based on companies' annual reports for The study found Singapore ranked seventh, with just 7.4% of board directors in Singapore are women, below the regional average of 9.4%. The study also found that strong gender diversity on boards often coincided with strong corporate performance. On average, firms with at least 10% female directors enjoyed a 3.6% higher return on equity and a 1.3% higher return on assets than firms with fewer female directors. State-Owned Enterprise Report 2014: The State as Shareholder: The Case of Singapore Sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), this three-year research initiative aims to conduct studies on SOEs in Asia. The first of three series, entitled The State as Shareholder: The Case of Singapore, was led by Principal Investigators Professor Steen Thomsen, Dr Isabel Sim and Gerard Yeong. It was launched on 30 June The report looks into Temasek Holdings and its management of Singapore-listed Government-linked Companies (GLCs) and Government-linked Real Estate Investment Trusts (GLREITs). Analysis on data from GTI showed that GLCs have better corporate governance practices compared to non-glcs in board matters, remuneration matters, audit and accountability and communication with shareholders. The findings bring into question the unfavourable literature on government ownership. The authors argue that GLCs and GLREITs in Singapore are an exception to how SOEs around the world are owned, managed and governed.

17 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page MEDIA COVERAGE CGIO s work and activities have gained the attention of industry practitioners, regulators, policy makers and the media. Much publicity he Centre is progressively being recognized for the work it does and the Centre s name has gained mention in several press articles Number of Citations (Apr Mar 2015) nd Quarter rd Quarter th Quarter st Quarter 2015

18 CGIO Annual Report 2014/ 2015Page OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERS The Centre partners reputable organisations in undertaking projects of interest to industry and policymakers, as well as organising governance-related events. Some of the organisations the Centre has collaborated include: