SIAS axes Midas Holdings' transparency award

Members of the company's board approved several illegal and bogus loans.

The public institution Securities Investors Association Singapore (SIAS) decided to withdraw its most transparent company award from Midas Holdings for 2012 to 2016.

According to a statement, the aim of the Most Transparent Company Award is to encourage listed companies to be more transparent and to provide timely information to investors to enable them to make informed investment decisions.

SIAS president and CEO David Gerald added, "Until and unless such information is proven to be wrong, SIAS and its industry partners will not be in a position to know whether or not the information is accurate and reliable."

There was no clue of any wrongdoings by Midas at the time the awards were presented, Gerald said. "After all, Midas was a favourite with local equity analysts with broking firms."

Midas Holdings felt the heat from regulators after it was revealed that several persons from its board made unauthorised and fake loans on behalf of the company.

"What must be understood clearly by everyone is that there is no guarantee that a company or a person exhibiting good conduct today may continue to do so in the future. It is also not humanly possible for SIAS or anyone to predict the future perfectly," he added.

This is an unprecedented move as SIAS and the Selection Committee have always taken precautions to screen and check companies before they are awarded, Gerald concluded. "Nevertheless, SIAS takes a serious view of misrepresentations, fraud and breaches in the laws and companies that have not adhered to the spirit of good corporate governance and transparency will have to be removed from winners’ list."