The Singapore bourse’s regulatory arm and an accounting body under the Finance Ministry have set up a committee with representatives such as state investment company Temasek Holdings, local lender DBS Bank Ltd. and US asset management giant BlackRock Inc. to advise companies on sustainability reporting.
The committee will provide input on international sustainability reporting standards for implementation in the city state, Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) say in a statement on June 21. Acra is a statutory board that regulates business registration, financial reporting, public accountants and corporate service providers.
They point out that growing global interest in environment, social and governance issues has led to calls for greater transparency and assurance on ESG-related information provided by companies, which investors and other stakeholders can incorporate into their decision making.
The 13-member committee is chaired by Esther An, chief sustainability officer of City Developments, a local company with businesses in property development and fund management.
According to An, effective ESG integration and disclosure are “critical to accelerating global efforts to build a greener and more resilient future for all”.
“I believe that the collective efforts of this committee will complement Acra and SGX RegCo’s initiatives to rally corporates and stakeholders to contribute towards the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and the global agenda on sustainable development,” she says in the statement.
Other committee members include Helge Muenkel, chief sustainability officer of DBS Bank, Shinbo Won, managing director and head of Asia ex-Japan at BlackRock Investment Stewardship, Grace Goh, managing director of finance and head of investment services at Temasek International, and Chia Ko Wen, head of sustainability at Singlife with Aviva.
