Singapore Tackles Corporate Scandals to Preserve Its Clean Reputation

A series of scandals at Singapore-based companies has regulators tightening oversight and pushing for more disclosure. At stake is the city-state’s role as a global wealth hub, which has become all the more significant as Beijing tightens its grip on Hong Kong.

About $3 trillion in assets are managed in Singapore, with more than 76% of the total coming from overseas. On the one hand, Singapore aspires to be a place where tycoons and their families can set up business and companies can list their shares under the protection of a well-developed financial and legal system. But being an attractive haven can be in tension with the transparency and disclosure global investors are looking for. “It’s a complex balance,” says Bryan Goh, chief investment officer at Tsao Family Office Pte, the Singapore-based investment arm of an Asian shipping fortune.