Singapore lists 109 firms that must report quarterly earnings

Hyflux and Best World International were among 109 names published on the Singapore Exchange website/Bloomberg

Singapore Exchange (SGX) published a list of firms that are now required to provide quarterly earnings reports based on its risk-based approach, a few weeks after the city-state scrapped the requirement for most companies.

Hyflux and Best World International were among 109 names published on the SGX website. The companies either have a qualified report from auditors, worries about them as a going concern or have been identified by the exchange itself for regulatory concerns.

In January 2020, the bourse scrapped mandatory quarterly reporting requirements that applied to all companies with a market capitalisation of at least SGD 75 million ($54 million).

Hyflux, a water treatment firm, has been embroiled in Singapore’s highest-profile debt restructuring process for more than 18 months. Cosmetics maker Best World, meanwhile, was the target of a short-seller report in 2019 that claimed it had overstated profits in China.

Hyflux will report financial statements for the quarter starting from the completion of its debt restructuring, it said in an exchange filing.

Tan Boon Gin, the Chief Executive Officer of SGX’s regulatory arm, stressed the importance of disclosures of significant litigation by all listed firms. Gin said that disclosures are necessary to avoid the creation of a so-called false market—where an active interference disrupts genuine supply and demand on securities—were just as important as providing price-sensitive information.

The highlighted firms now have a one-year grace period before starting quarterly reporting and the SGX will update the list every three months. Other Singapore-listed companies, while having the option to report quarterly, will be required to report semi-annually.