CHI named Best in Corporate Governance

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu’s premier developer Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI) was recently recognized by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) for its Corporate Governance system (for non-financial institution).

In the recent Best Annual Report Awards hosted by MAP, CHI was awarded Best in Corporate Governance. In the same awards, held in Manila recently, CHI also placed 3rd in the ranking of the nominated finalists.

According to CHI, the award came in timely, while the investor confidence is crucial and transparency of operations defines best practices of corporations.

Philippine Long Distance Co (PLDT) took home the top prize followed by Manila Water Co. Rounding out the top five are CHI subsidiary, Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp. and Philippine Savings Bank. Forty-six companies out of the more than 240 publicly-listed companies in the country qualified for the awards.

CHI’s 2008 Integrated Annual and Sustainability Report covers the performance of the previous year on both financial and non-financial aspects. The report features the highlights of the company’s operations and revenues, and dedicated special sections on its environmental and social responsibility achievements.

Reporting of the company’s performance is in accordance with the triple-bottomline reporting framework of the Global Reporting Initiative (G3 guidelines) which enables the company to publish and report its economic, environmental and social performance to its shareholders and to a global audience.

One of the highlights of this report is a section devoted to corporate governance, which details the practices and principles on good and transparent governance, and the company’s full compliance. The information disclosed seeks to give the company’s stakeholders a clearer picture of the company’s initiatives and performance, thus improving their level of understanding of CHI’s business.

CHI’s corporate governance structure is a key element in promoting competitiveness, improving financial growth and ultimately enhancing investor confidence. The policy outlines framework of rules and practices by which a board of directors ensures accountability, fairness, and transparency in the company's relationship with its all stakeholders.

The MAP’s Best Annual Report award aims to encourage the observance of the principles of Good Governance (transparency, accountability and fairness) and raise the financial reporting and disclosure practices of publicly-listed Philippine companies to international standards.

At par with top world-class companies, CHI has been using the Balanced Scorecard management system which enables every employee to see a direct link between his responsibilities and the company’s objectives. CHI’s management system is also certified to the international ISO standards for Quality, Environment and Health and Safety.

Integration of these systems and approaches has helped instill and inspire performance accountability and transparency at each level in the organization, thereby improving corporate governance practices. (Ehda M. Dagooc)