Singapore's exchange regulator will make listed companies disclose the KPIs behind executive pay

More than 90% of SGX issuers use financial indicators to set executive pay and 47% name them, so more than 43 percentage points of the market pays against metrics shareholders cannot see ^[10][11]. The rule reaches that group only from annual reports for financial years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2027 ^[3]. The first of those reports are expected in 2028 ^[2].

The investor relations requirements ask less of most companies. More than 90% of issuers already ran an investor website and two-way channels, based on FY2025 annual reports published through May 31, 2026 ^[8]. From next year the website is mandatory for all, with SGXNET kept as the primary channel for information ^[6]. About 80% already disclose the objectives and principles of an investor relations policy, while only a minority describe the engagement they actually carried out ^[9]. SGX RegCo said the figures showed room for improvement and that most issuers should be able to adopt the rules ^[12].

The dividend clause needs more care. A payout commitment is not required, and an issuer can adopt retention for growth as its policy ^[5]. So the clause sets no floor under cash returned. What shareholders get is a written statement to set beside the cash flow statement. A company that says it keeps earnings to fund growth, then reports flat investment and a rising cash balance, has published the inconsistency in its own documents.

SGX RegCo chief executive Tan Boon Gin tied the package to recent demand for Singapore shares. "Singapore's equity market is benefiting from a resurgence of investor interest, but this interest will not last if boards and management do not increase investor engagement and demonstrate greater transparency - particularly transparency about how board or management decisions align with shareholder interests," he said ^[7].

SGX RegCo stopped at dividends. Several of the 32 consultation respondents, a group that included asset managers, issuers and representative bodies, wanted a broader range of capital management practices covered ^[13][14]. That request now sits with the Corporate Governance Advisory Committee, which will weigh whether to recommend such disclosure and whether it belongs in the corporate governance code or the listing rules ^[15].

The KPI lists could arrive generic, a revenue line and a sustainability line with no weights or targets attached. The requirement as reported covers the indicators and their alignment with long-term value, and the published description does not mention weightings ^[3]. Dividend policies could converge on retention language. Or the advisory committee could widen the scope beyond dividends, which would put the dividend policy inside a larger account of where cash goes ^[15]. I think the pay disclosure has the most force, because it asks more than 43 points' worth of issuers to publish data they already use ^[11]. That view fails if the 2028 reports name indicators that cannot be reconciled with the pay actually awarded.