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Corporate governance award success in Hong Kong SAR
27 August 2003
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, HSBC Holdings plc’s principal subsidiary in the Hong Kong SAR, has been ranked number one in Asiamoney magazine’s annual corporate governance poll.
HSBC in Hong Kong scored 91.5 out of a possible 100, placing it at the top of its industry group and higher than any other company in the poll (see table below).
The poll ranks the quality of corporate governance practices of Asia’s largest companies. In the banking category, HSBC ranked first among 11 other competitors. Asiamoney said this year there were a lot more competitors as it appeared Asian companies are now taking corporate governance more seriously.
A company’s score is produced by means of an assessment by research analysts from various brokerage firms and also by a self-assessment from the company itself. Not all companies provided a self-assessment, nor received a score from an analyst, but where the magazine received both, as with HSBC, the company’s final score is a combination of the two.
Corporate governance is defined as the manner in which organisations are managed and the nature of accountability of the managers to the owners - in HSBC’s case, the shareholders.
Ralph Barber, HSBC Group Company Secretary, said: “Investors are increasingly looking internationally for investment opportunities and expect to find good corporate governance wherever they invest. The Asiamoney poll shows clearly that high standards are widely practiced in the region and we are delighted that HSBC has been recognised in this way.”
| Industry group | Company | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banks | HSBC | Hong Kong | 91.5 |
| Capital goods | Keppel Corp | Singapore | 79 |
| Diversified financials | Hong Kong Exchange & Clearing | Hong Kong | 83 |
| Energy | Petrochina | China | 85.5 |
| Materials | POSCO | Korea | 89 |
| Real estate | SP Setia | Malaysia | 89 |
| Semiconductors & semiconductor equipment | TSMC | Taiwan | 86.5 |
| Technology hardware & equipment | Au Optronics | Taiwan | 81.5 |
| Telecommunication services | SingTel | Singapore | 84.28 |
| Utilities | CLP Holdings | Hong Kong | 90.97 |
Asiamoney will publish full details of the awards in its September issue.
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