CHI, CPVDC to further strengthen corporate governance

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Holdings Incorporated (CHI) and its subsidiary Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corporation (CPVDC) vows to further strengthen its leadership in corporate governance following the recognition given by the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), wherein both companies scored at least 95 percent in the Corporate Governance Scorecard.

The Corporate Governance award is given only to publicly-listed companies and this time, CHI and CPVDC are the only Cebu-based companies among the Gold awardees.

Along with CHI and CPVDC are five other Ayala companies who made it to the top-tier category, which includes Ayala Corporation, Ayala Land Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Telecom and Manila Water Company Inc.

CPVDC received the same gold citation the previous year, while CHI jumped from having awarded a silver recognition in 2008 to gold for 2009.

CHI and CPVDC’s corporate governance structure is a key element in promoting competitiveness, improving financial growth and ultimately enhancing investor confidence. It facilitates an efficient enforcement of the companies’ sustainability framework.

The corporate governance framework blends seamlessly with CHI and CPVDC’s integrated management systems. Both companies are certified to the international ISO and OHSAS standards for quality, environment and health and safety, and subscribe to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 standards for triple-bottomline reporting. All these ensure not only quality performance, but sustainability as an organization as well.

The Corporate Governance Scorecard project ranks publicly listed companies according to how they perform relative to a set of corporate governance criteria.

Areas for assessment include policies and practices relating to Rights of Shareholders, Equitable Treatment of Shareholders, Role of Stakeholders, Disclosure and Transparency, and Board Responsibilities.

The project aims to raise standards of corporate governance practices not only by ensuring compliance to minimum regulatory requirements but also by encouraging the adoption of recognized best practices in corporate governance.   

Now on its 5th year, the project is jointly administered by ICD with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the Institute of Internal Auditors of the Philippines (IIA-P), the Ateneo Law School and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE).