2021 ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard Awards

On 02 December 2022, the Institute of Corporate Directors Philippines (ICDPh) held the 2021 ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard Awards. The online event was hosted by Ms. Cathyrine P. Perez, Director for Corporate Governance Advocacy of ICD Philippines, and was broadcasted live on the Institute’s social media platform.

TheASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard is an initiative under the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum and has been a collaborative effort with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) intended to ensure that the corporate governance climate in the ASEAN region remains competitive and conducive to the growth of businesses in ASEAN jurisdictions. Accordingly, the ACGS awards aim to recognize the valuable efforts exerted by ASEAN publicly listed companies in improving and raising the standards in corporate governance in the areas of protecting and facilitating the rights and equitable treatment to shareholders, how the companies relate to different stakeholders, ensuring transparency and accountability, and how the board fulfill its duties and responsibilities and support corporate governance.

Chairman Emilio B. Aquino of the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who is also the chairman of the ASEAN Corporate Governance Working Group, started the event with his opening remarks. He recognized the exemplary efforts and hard work of the ASEAN publicly listed companies in pursuit of good corporate governance. Meanwhile, Atty. Cesar L. Villanueva, the chairman of the Institute of Corporate Directors, mentioned that ICD Philippines would continue working closely with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange in ensuring that the average ACGS scores of Philippine PLCs will continue to rise and exhibit the vibrant economy and investment opportunities of the Philippines. Atty. Villanueva concluded his speech with the idea of initiating an ASEAN ESG scorecard system.

Mr. Mohd Sani Mohd Ismail of the Asian Development Bank provided the history of the ACGS, its current challenges due to the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and promoting the ACGS not only within the ASEAN region but also within Europe and the global community.

For the most awaited part of the event, 234 publicly listed companies across the participating ASEAN countries that have garnered at least 97.5 points in the 2021 ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard were presented as the ASEAN Asset Class. Subsequently, Ms. Maria Aurora D. Geotina-Garcia, Vice Chairperson and President of ICD Philippines, announced the ASEAN Top 20 Publicly Listed Companies and Top 3 Publicly Listed Companies for each participating country in alphabetical order.

Please click the link to see the list: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g1tD9t_RQWJfVStgD7yeNK2TO5aOuZv8/view?usp=sharing

The awardees were congratulated by H.E. Mr. Sou Socheat, Chairman of the ASEAN Capital Market Forum and the Director General of Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia. Finally, on behalf of the ASEAN Domestic Ranking Bodies, Ms. Ha Thu Thanh, Chairperson of the Vietnam Institute of Directors, extended her congratulatory message to the awardees and appreciation to the corporate governance task force, the domestic ranking bodies, the Asian Development Bank, and to the respective national regulators for their hard work and support for the assessment of 2021 ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard.

The event ended with an announcement that in light of the review and updating of the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and considering the developments in the corporate governance landscape, the ACGS Working Group will also update its current assessment framework in time for its next assessment commencing in mid-2023.