IRO Sing Yang Fong explains how senior management is strongly involved in the IR program
Since 2011 SingTel has won a total of 14 trophies at the IR Magazine Awards – South East Asia. That works out at two each for the current seven-strong team led by Sin Yang Fong, who notes: ‘Together we have more than 30 years’ experience in IR.’ She adds that the team ‘is pretty flatly structured, with three Singapore members and one director in Sydney reporting to me.’
Sin readily acknowledges the role of executives in the IR effort: ‘We are blessed with very ‘enlightened’ senior management members who understand the importance of what we do and are actively engaged in investor meetings and in shaping the IR message. For example, to drive business outcomes for the longer term, certain short-term financial metrics may be affected. At times like these, investors really appreciate management taking the time and effort to explain the strategy and rationale.’
Investors and analysts always like opportunities to meet companies, of course, and SingTel offers plenty. Roadshows, involving investor conferences and other meetings, are held once or twice a year in both North America and Europe, twice in Hong Kong, once in Malaysia and four times at home in Singapore. ‘In our last financial year, we met a total of 500 investors in 250 meetings and conference calls,’ Sin reports. ‘And each year we also host the SingTel Investor Day, where senior management from the different business units and associated companies updates investors and analysts on their businesses. It is a full-day event and we are very heartened by the turnout: more than 50, and most stay till the end.’
Sin says the group CEO, CFO and chief corporate officer all devote two or three weeks a year to traveling for roadshows and conferences, while the CEOs of the business units devote one or two weeks. ‘But there are always other requests to meet them in Singapore or Australia. If you add them up, it’s a lot of face time with investors.’
This profile first appeared in the IR Magazine Investor Perception Study – Asia 2015/2016, which is available to professional subscribers of IR Magazine
