Nine is enough

The statistics shared by the SC also showed that out of the 3,376 independent directors sitting on the board of listed companies in 2020, 775 or 23% have served beyond the nine-year term. Of this 775, 275 or 35.5% are those within the nine to 12 years tenure period, 53% are in the 13-20 years bracket, 85 or 11% are in the 21-30 years bracket.Three independent directors have also served beyond 30 years while one has served more than 40 years.

LAST week, the Securities Commission (SC) released a report entitled Corporate Governance Strategic Priorities 2021-2023 (CGSP) which outlined the regulator’s five strategic thrusts.

This includes matters related to board leadership; environment, social and governance (ESG) fitness of boards; and, stewardship and engagement.