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Corporate governance report
Introduction
Ascendas India Trust (“Trust”) is a Business Trust
constituted under Singapore’s Business Trusts Act,
Chapter 31A, and is listed on the Main Board of SGX-ST.
It is principally regulated by:
i) The Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 (“SFA”);
ii) The Business Trusts Act (“BTA”);
iii) The Listing Manual of SGX-ST (“Listing Manual”); and
iv) The Trust Deed.
The Trust has also voluntarily adopted certain key
provisions of the Code on Collective Investment
Schemes (“CIS”), issued by the Monetary Authority of
Singapore (“MAS”), in particular, the Property Funds
Appendix under Appendix 6 of the CIS.
The Trust is managed by Ascendas Property Fund Trustee
Pte. Ltd., the Trustee-Manager. The Trustee-Manager
recognises that a strong and effective corporate
governance culture is critical to safeguard the interests
of the Trust’s unitholders (“Unitholders”) as a whole and
is committed to maintaining high standards of corporate
governance. The Trustee-Manager also ensures that
applicable requirements, laws and regulations, including
those mentioned above are complied with, and that the
Trustee-Manager's obligations under the Trust Deed are
properly carried out.
This section describes the main corporate governance
policies and practices that the Trustee-Manager has
implemented and abides by, with reference to the
revised Code of Corporate Governance 2012
(“2012 Code”).
Board matters
Primary functions of the Board of Directors of the
Trustee-Manager
The primary function of the Board of Directors of
the Trustee-Manager (“Board”) is to oversee the
management of the Trust’s assets and liabilities for
the beneft of Unitholders, including generating rental
income and enhancing assets so as to maximise returns
from investments over time. It is the responsibility of the
Board to set the strategic direction of the Trust, provide
guidance towards achieving effective and effcient
management of the Trust, review and approve annual
business plans, budgets, investments and funding of
the Trust, for the long term success of the Trust. The
Board has established a framework of prudent and
effective risk management practices and internal control
procedures to assess and manage business risks and
ensure compliance with applicable laws. The Board’s role
includes ensuring that obligations to Unitholders
are understood and met.
Delegation by the Board
The Board has delegated the day-to-day operations
of the Trust to an experienced and qualifed team
(“Management”) headed by Mr Jonathan Yap, Executive
Director and CEO of the Trustee-Manager. The Board
is also assisted by Board Committees in the discharge
of its functions, namely the Audit Committee (“AC”),
the Investment Committee (“IC”), the Nominating
Committee (“NC”) and the Human Resource and
Remuneration Committee (“HRRC”), each of which
operates under written terms of reference that set out
the authority and duties of each Committee. For more
information on these Committees, please refer to page
52 (AC), page 49 (IC), page 51 (NC) and page 52 (HRCC).
Board and committee meetings
The Board meets at least fve times a year to discuss
and review the key activities, strategies, policies,
potential acquisitions and fnancial performance of
the Trust, including approving the quarterly and full-
year fnancial results. As and when necessary, Board
meetings are also supplemented by resolutions
circulated to directors for decisions.