MAS to review the need for new culture provision in corporate governance code

The central bank will tap SGX and the Corporate Governance Advisory Committee for the assessment.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it will assess whether there is merit in introducing a new provision on culture to the corporate governance code.

In his speech at the SIAS Corporate Governance Conference, MAS Managing Director Ravi Menon said the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX) had already introduced a corporate culture provision in 2021.

Under the said provision, the board should establish the issuer’s purpose, values and strategy and satisfy itself that these are aligned with the issuer’s culture.

It also provides that all directors must act with integrity, lead by example, and promote the desired culture.

Menon, however, underscored that the right culture has to be “built from within companies,” and  “cannot be imposed from outside.”

Reiterating a speech eight years ago, Menon said there are three ways for companies to “get the culture right”: leading by example, creating a safe environment for whistle-blowing, and aligning human resource policies to a culture of trust and ethics.