Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA)

Behind the collapse of China Evergrande and Country Garden were independent directors who had served for more than 10 years. Board independence is one of the issues that ACGA addresses in its submission to HKEX's consultation on the CG code. We also recommend taking other bolder steps. Our submission is publicly accessible on ACGA website: https://lnkd.in/gvrRb2Vp #HongKong #corporategovernance #CGcode #HKEX

A draft bill aiming to extend directors' duty of loyalty to include shareholders has made its way to the legislature in Korea, but its future as law is uncertain. In this article, Stephanie Lin, Research Manager at ACGA, examines the issues surrounding directors' duty of loyalty in Korea and the potential implications for shareholder protection in this market.

China's Ministry of Finance aims to develop a national standard for sustainability disclosure. What are the similarities and differences between its draft framework and the ISSB standards? Check out the analysis by ACGA Research Manager Lake Wang. #China #ISSBstandards #sustainability #ESG

Which ASEAN markets are taking strides in corporate governance? Check out ACGA's latest CG Watch report, "Spectrum of Standards" to find out the latest developments in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand https://lnkd.in/gWMjzvvy

Our latest CG Watch Korea chapter, “Dismantling the discount: retail investors push CG into political agenda” is now live. Following the Covid pandemic, retail investors in Korea have tripled, becoming a major force in the capital market and politics. Some CG progress has been made, but challenges remain. Check out our report to find out what is next for Korea with the recent launch of the Corporate Value-up Program and our recommendations to tackle the ‘Korea Discount.’ https://lnkd.in/gg4aHr6i

Amar Gill presented at the PwC NED Lunch talk last week on CG Watch overview, focussing on Hong Kong and China as well as governance issues across the region. Our market chapters are now being released: the chapter on China, Hong Kong, Taiwan is due out shortly. For reports on our website, please visit https://www.acga-asia.org

The road to the AGM: a landmark shareholder proposal puts Taiwan on the map of Asia’s shareholder activism, writes ACGA Research Manager Lake Wang in our latest analysis.  #shareholderactivism #Taiwan #AGM #corporategovernance

Proposed listing rule changes will address logistical hurdles faced by shareholders who call a general meeting but 10% voting rights threshold remains, writes ACGA Head of Research Jane Moir in our latest analysis. #singapore #corporategovernance #capitalmarkets #shareholderrights

ACGA has released an open letter on 26 April addressing the issue of strategic shareholdings in corporate Japan. With the support of our Japan Working Group Chair, Kei Okamura as well as 31 undersigned member firms, we emphasise the urgency to accelerate the further reduction of strategic investments, which we believe in principle should be zero for most companies. The letter includes key recommendations to advance the governance and financial returns, benefiting both companies and the Japanese economy. Our key recommendations included: 1.   Implementation of clear targets to reduce strategic shareholdings to zero. 2.   Proposal to strengthen Board of Directors and Audit Board Members’ roles in the oversight of strategic shareholdings. 3.   Improved disclosure on state of strategic shareholdings including the rationale for maintaining the holdings. 4.   Declaration that any divestment by the counterpart would not be met by a loss of benefit or detriment to shareholders. 5.   Disclosure of policies and decisions with regards to voting of strategic shareholdings. 6.   Disclosure of plans on how to utilize proceeds from the divestments as part of a mid-term capital management plan. You may view both the English version and the Japanese version of the letter on ACGA’s website. https://lnkd.in/gu6TyfMT

Busy week in Singapore on behalf of ACGA, speaking at the Forum of [Audit] Firms on CG Watch market ratings, in particular the Auditor & Audit Regulators category. Followed yesterday on a panel of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Sustainability Exchange hosted by Julia Tay of EY in an engaging discussion together with ACGA members: Trista Chen 陈嘉 Chen of LGIM, Shinbo Won of BlackRock. ACGA had a roundtable discussion at the offices of IMC Industrial Group yesterday, hosted by our Council member Yuelin Yang, our Council chairman Steven Watson also joining the discussion with approximately 30 members and invitees, where we discussed ACGA’s recent delegation to Korea as well as recent visits to Japan and Taiwan. Notes on all our meetings during the Korea delegation can be found on the @ACGA website members’ page, including views on the Value-up programme following the recent elections. Note: ACGA is arranging a followup call with the Korean regulator, Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), next week. Yuelin also hosted a dinner with a small group earlier in the week discussing ACGA’s activities including the annual conference coming up in November in Singapore. Open to members and others interested in governance, let us know if you are able to participate to discuss current issues of governance in the region, bringing together our members and stakeholders for advocacy and on-the-ground engagements. Watch this space for an update on Japan, as well as our Members’ Briefing coming up in May.