Author: Mak Yuen Teen

Where there is a lack of proper governance around the compilation of ratings or judging of awards, or subjective assessments of individuals involved in owning, governing and managing companies are disregarded, the chances of getting it wrong is much higher.

This is fundamentally a case of a highly promising company which has taken on too much too quickly, without sufficient attention to proper risk management. It is as far as I can see not a case of egregious behaviour or outrageously bad governance – unlike Noble and some other companies.

At the end of the day, we should look at the message rather than the messenger, and if there is a proper basis for the message – whether we are talking about short sellers or analysts. Don’t shoot the messenger just because we do not like what he has to say.

Investor protection needs to be improved before confidence spirals downwards.

In my view, the real reasons for the lack of investor interest are the quality of companies listed and the lack of investor protection.