Ayala Group earns Gold ranking for corporate governance

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala companies earned seven of the 11 highest rankings of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD)’s Corporate Governance Scorecard Project for 2009.

Ranked in the Gold category were Ayala Corp. and its companies Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI), Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Telecom, Manila Water Co., and ALI’s listed subsidiaries Cebu Holdings, Inc., and Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp., all of which scored 95 percent or above in the governance scorecard. ICD recognized companies that led its scorecard project on May 27 at The Manila Peninsula.

A non-stock, non-profit organization, ICD works closely with the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), the Global Corporate Governance Forum, and the International Corporate Governance Network on improving actual boardroom practices in the Philippines. ICD is a founding member and permanent secretariat of the Institute of Directors in East Asia Network composed of representatives from Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

For the last five years, ICD’s corporate governance scorecard has been used by publicly listed companies as a tool to rate and benchmark their corporate governance practices relative to global and regional standards. The project is jointly administered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Institute of Internal Auditors of the Philippines, the Ateneo Law School, and the Center for International Private Enterprise. In 2009, it developed separate scorecards for banks, government-owned and controlled corporations, government financial institutions, and insurance companies.

Led by the parent company, Ayala group companies assessed their own governance practices using ICD’s scorecard to evaluate their practices in the areas of shareholder rights, equitable treatment of shareholders, role of stakeholders in governance, disclosure and transparency, and board responsibilities – key governance principles used as basis for corporate governance practices globally.

In addition to the Ayala Group, other companies cited in the Gold category were Energy Development Corp., First Gen Corp., First Philippines Holdings Corp., and PLDT.

Nineteen companies were cited in the Silver category for scoring 90 to 94 percent in the ICD scorecard, including Aboitiz companies, ABS-CBN Broadcasting, Alaska Milk, Benpres Holdings, Centro Escolar University, Chinabank, GMA Network, Highlands Prime, Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines, Petron, PSBank, Security Bank, Semirara Mining, SM companies, and Unionbank.

“We are very happy with the results as they show continued improvement in compliance and corporate governance practices among our listed companies,” said ICD chairman Dr. Jesus Estanislao. “The challenge is to step up to the plate, go beyond mere compliance and into governance that delivers performance and breakthrough results.” Estanislao said that the ICD is now working with select top-ranked companies on a corporate governance improvement pathway to help cultivate a governance culture in organizations through a performance governance system.