PETALING JAYA, 18 August 2021: Paramount Corporation Berhad (Paramount) has been accorded top awards in two categories by the Minority Shareholders Watch Group (MSWG) in the MSWG-ASEAN Corporate Governance (CG) Scorecard Award 2020. The categories are:
- Excellence Award for CG Disclosure – Market Cap above RM300 million to below RM1 billion
- Industry Excellence Award – Property
In addition to these awards, Paramount was placed at the 13th position among the top 100 public listed companies (PLCs) that were ranked by MSWG for CG disclosure in 2020.
Prior to this, in 2017, Paramount received an Excellence Award for Overall CG & Performance (Special Category) in the Market Cap above RM300 million to below RM1 billion category. In 2016 and 2015, it received merit awards for Best AGM and Top CG & Performance respectively.
“We are delighted to receive not just one, but two awards by MSWG and to come in first in both categories. In addition, for a company of our size to be ranking 13th out of 100 PLCs is truly a fantastic achievement,” said Paramount Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Jeffrey Chew.
“This is yet another enduring legacy of our late chairman, Dato’ Teo Chiang Quan who was the driving force behind Paramount’s unwavering stance on good corporate governance. Together with the Board of Directors, he emphasised on the importance of building Paramount on a foundation of integrity and trust. He also believed that a strong corporate governance framework and culture translates to a strong company that delivers for all its stakeholders.
“Moving forward, we will continue to build on Dato’ Teo’s legacy. We will remain committed to improving on our corporate governance standards, adopting best practices, and providing good disclosures for greater transparency to our stakeholders,” added Chew.
For 2020, 52 trophies are awarded to 38 PLCs by MSWG out of a total of 851 PLCs assessed. The winners were assessed using the ASEAN CG Scorecard and winners were determined by the Adjudication Committee which comprises representatives from professional bodies, CG experts, academicians, investment professionals and those familiar with the Malaysian equity market.
Scores are principally given based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Principles of Corporate Governance which covers shareholders’ rights, equitable treatment of shareholders, roles of stakeholders as well as responsibilities of the board of directors, with bonus scores for the adoption of other emerging good CG practices and deductions for areas of poor governance.
MSWG was established as a government initiative in the year 2000 as part of a broader capital market framework to protect the interests of minority shareholders through shareholder activism. It is one avenue of market discipline to encourage good governance amongst public listed companies with the objective of raising shareholder value over time.
