PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD

The Board is responsible, amongst others, for charting and communicating the strategic direction and corporate values of the Group, and supervising its affairs to ensure its success within a framework of acceptable risks and effective control and in compliance with the relevant laws, regulations, guidelines and directives in the territories in which it operates. The Board reviews management performance and ensures that the necessary financial and human resources are available to meet the Group’s objectives. The Board is also responsible for succession planning of senior management.

BOARD COMPOSITION AND BALANCE

The Board comprises five non-executive directors, including the Chairman, and one executive director. Three of the five non-executive directors are independent which is higher than the minimum prescribed in the Code and the Listing Requirements. On 1 February 2007, Tan Poh Ching resigned as a Director and as a member of the Remuneration Committee. With his resignation, the Board comprises four Non-Executive Directors including the Chairman and one Executive Director. The role and responsibilities of the Executive Deputy Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer vis-à-vis the Board are clearly defined.

The independent Directors play a pivotal role in corporate accountability, which is reflected in their membership of the various Board Committees and their attendance of meetings. They provide unbiased views and impartiality to the Board’s deliberation and decision-making process. In addition, the Non-Executive Directors ensure that matters and issues brought up to the Board are fully discussed and examined, taking into account the interest of all stakeholders in the Group. The profiles of the members of the Board, as set out on Pages 16 and 17 of the Annual Report 2007, demonstrates the complement of skills and experiences that the Directors are able to bring to bear on issues of strategy, performance, control, resource allocation and integrity.

Statement of Internal Control (.pdf)