SINGAPORE: Singapore Post said on Thursday (Jan 2) it is open to discussions with the Securities Investors Association Singapore (SIAS) about its decision to fire three top executives, after the retail investor watchdog called for an independent professional inquiry.
Last month, SingPost dismissed its group chief executive officer Vincent Phang, group chief financial officer Vincent Yik and the head of its international business unit Li Yu, over the mishandling of whistleblowing reports.
“The sudden dismissal of three senior executives from SingPost, coupled with their vigorous denial of the allegations against them, has raised critical questions in the minds of shareholders, investors and the market,” SIAS president and CEO David Gerald said in a statement on Thursday.
“The fact that they were told to leave with immediate effect points to an extremely serious breach of the rules which in turn necessitates detailed explanations.
“Yet it has to be said that the disclosures from the company and the responses from the three executives thus far raise more questions than provide answers.
“Shareholders deserve better and so does the market if all are to make informed decisions regarding their investments.”
Given the severity of the incident and the large number of questions “still circulating”, he said the watchdog “strongly urges” the commissioning of an independent professional inquiry into the matter.
SIAS is an advocacy group for investors’ rights and calls itself “the voice for minority shareholders”.
In response to CNA’s queries on Thursday, SingPost said it has fulfilled its disclosure obligations “while being mindful not to prejudice any potential legal proceedings”.
“We have contacted SIAS and are open to discussing recent events to the extent possible given these constraints,” a spokesperson said.
The association had previously asked SingPost if it would publish the key findings of its internal investigation.
In a filing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) last Sunday, the company said that it would not do so.
