With effect from 7 Feb 2020 (Friday), SGX will drop the quarterly reporting (“QR”) requirement for listed companies. QR was implemented in 2003 and applicable to companies with market capitalization over S$75Mil. The current need to do QR for listed company will be dependent on risk assessment basis. In place will be a risk focused governance regime based on continuous disclosure.
Main reasons cited for changeI was very disappointed by the announcement as quarterly release of financial results give retail investors like myself more timely visibility to the overall health of the business. Apparently, what triggered the downgrade in reporting requirement was to (i) allow management team of listed companies to implement longer term strategies rather than devoting time with meeting quarterly reporting deadlines and (ii) the issue of high compliance cost for companies.
Ironic arguments by the regulatorI find the arguments for the change ironic as SGX will still require “problematic”...
