Stephen Lim Teck Siang & Associates: The Company

Sunday, 1 September 2013

The Company

Great Eastern is the oldest and most established life insurance group in Singapore and Malaysia. With S$60.1 billion in assets and around 4.0 million policyholders, it has three successful distribution channels - a tied agency force, bancassurance and a financial advisory firm, Great Eastern Financial Advisers. The Company also operates in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Brunei. Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited has been assigned the financial strength and counterparty credit ratings of 'AA-' by Standard & Poor's since 2010, one of the highest among Asian life insurance companies. It was voted Life Insurer of the Year at the Asia Insurance Industry Awards 2011 by Asia Insurance Review. Great Eastern's asset management subsidiary, Lion Global Investors Limited, is one of the largest private sector asset management companies in Southeast Asia.

Great Eastern is a subsidiary of OCBC Bank, the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets. It is one of the world's most highly-rated banks, with an Aa1 rating from Moody's. It is also ranked by Bloomberg Markets as the world's strongest bank in 2011 and 2012. OCBC Bank's key markets are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Greater China. It has a network of over 470 branches and representative offices in 15 countries and territories including about 350 branches and offices in Indonesia operated by its subsidiary, bank OCBC NISP.

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Asia's Life Insurer of the Year 2011

Great Eastern garnered the prestigious Life Insurer of the Year Award at the 15th Asia Insurance Industry Awards 2011. Great Eastern was recognised for its good understanding of customers which has enabled it to keep its leadership position in the face of strong competition and retaining its pole position in bancassurance for 10 consecutive years. It was also highly regarded for its innovative products, excellent customer service and for equipping its agency force with tools and technology to enhance efficiency and productivity and to better serve customers

Singapore Corporate Governance Award Merit Award 2011

Great Eastern was one of four Merit winners out of 660 SGX-listed companies which were assessed on their Corporate Governance practices as disclosed in their annual reports. The Award, the first of its kind in Asia by investors, is introduced to recognise companies that best meet the letter and spirit of the Singapore Code from the investors' point of view and is an initiative by Singapore investors to help improve Corporate Governance in Singapore. It is supported by SGX and endorsed by worldclass and local professional institutions.

Top 100 Singapore Brands Great Eastern ranked 9th out of 100 top brands in Singapore

Brand Finance, the world's leading independent intangible asset and brand valuation consultancy, has ranked Great Eastern 9th in its 4th annual "Top 100 Singapore Brands" league table. Great Eastern improved its ranking by two positions from 11th last year. We were also one of the top three risers by brand value growth, by a massive 83%. Our brand is now valued at US$1.15 billion compared with US$627 million last year.

The results are indeed a great recognition of the Great Eastern brand and a further confirmation that Great Eastern is the leading brand in insurance in Singapore!

Singapore's Most Admired Financial Institution

Great Eastern was conferred the "Most Admired Financial Institution" Award by the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS). This award was given at the SIAS 10th Anniversary & Investors' Choice Awards on 7 October 2009.

On 31 July 2009, Great Eastern made a goodwill offer to redeem 600 million GreatLink Choice (GLC) units from its policyholders at their original purchase price of $1.00 each, net of payouts. This offer addressed the growing concerns among policyholders over the potential collapse of these products as a result of the global financial crisis.

SIAS recognises that Great Eastern is a company that practises good corporate responsibility and really cares for its customers. Great Eastern has set a good example for Singapore's financial community. The Award is a testimony of our 101-year legacy and commitment to always act in the best interest of all our stakeholders.

BrandLaureate Awards 2008/ 2009

Singapore 1000

Great Eastern Holdings Ltd came in 34th in the Singapore 1000 ranking for 2009 in terms of sales turnover, and 52nd in terms of net profit. In terms of market capitalisation, we were ranked 12th.

The Singapore 1000 Awards are conferred to corporations that have attained the highest achievements in the quantitative management of their companies. It ranks both publicly listed and private limited companies, and includes all subsidiary companies. Hence, Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd and Overseas Assurance Corporation Ltd have also been ranked as separate entities in the Singapore 1000.

Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd ranked 73rd and 90th in terms of sales turnover and net profit respectively, while Overseas Assurance Corporation Ltd ranked 197th and 292nd in terms of sales turnover and net profit respectively.

The Singapore 1000 is ranked and published by DP Information Group, co-produced by Ernst & Young, as well as supported by IE Singapore, SPRING Singapore and The Business Times. It is an essential guide to the annual audited financial performance (for the period ending between 1 June 2007 and 31 May 2008) of Singapore's most successful corporations.

Singapore International 100 Ranking 2008

For the fourth year running, Great Eastern Holdings Ltd is one of the top-ranked companies in the Singapore International 100 Ranking. This ranking identifies and celebrates Singapore's top 100 companies ranked by highest overseas revenue. With $3.3 billion in overseas turnover, we are in the 13th position in the overall ranking and in 3rd position in the Southeast Asia market ranking.

This is the fourth annual ranking organised by IE Singapore with DP Information as the Ranking Organisation.

This prestigious recognition places Great Eastern among the top Singapore companies that have made internationalisation and international businesses an integral part of their corporate strategy.

Corporate Transparency Index

In the first issue of the Business Times Corporate Transparency Index (BT-CTI) for 2007 published in The Business Times on 18 Apr 2007, Great Eastern Holdings Ltd scored a total of 69 points, up two points from 67 in the last ranking. This score puts us at 55th position out of 475 companies. This latest round of scoring involved companies with financial year-ends between 31 Jul and 31 Dec 2006.

The BT-CTI is conducted in collaboration with the Corporate Governance & Financial Reporting Centre of the NUS Business School and the ACCA Singapore.

The CTI rates Singapore-listed companies on the quality of their financial disclosures and the way they are presented. It reviews, analyses and scores year-end financial reports filed with the Singapore Exchange (SGX), and associated documents, such as press releases, corporate fact sheets and presentations, against a scorecard which is split into two sections: "content" and "context". The main source of information is that which is released via SGXNet and found on corporate websites. The "content" section assesses the quality and quantity of financial information provided, with a maximum score of 60. The "context" section scores the effectiveness of how the "content" is communicated to the market, with a maximum score of 40. Great Eastern scored 43 for "content" and 26 for "context".

Singapore Brand Award 2006

Great Eastern is Singapore's 7th Most Valuable Brand in the Singapore Brand Award 2006! Our brand value has increased by 14%, up from $609 million in 2005 to $693 million in 2006. This marks the fifth time we have clinched the Singapore Brand Award since its inception in 2002.

Organised by IE Singapore, in partnership with Interbrand, an international brand consultancy, this award recognises successful Singapore-based companies with the highest brand value.

Once again, this achievement is made possible only through the combined effort and partnership between our staff, life planners, valued customers, business associates and shareholders.

We will continue to build upon our Great Eastern brand and work towards our vision of becoming the leading financial service provider in Asia, recognised for our excellence.

Total Shareholder Return

Great Eastern has a track record of generating sustainable long-term returns for its shareholders.

2006 - In a Total Shareholder Return (TSR) ranking of 584 companies listed on the Singapore Exchange as at 31 Dec 2005 undertaken by global consulting firm, LEK Consulting, published in The Business Times on 15 May 2006, Great Eastern maintained a good performance. We were ranked No. 18 with a five-year TSR of 24.1% and No. 16 with a 10-year TSR of 9.8% among companies with a market capitalisation exceeding $1 billion. TSR is the annualised total return to shareholders from maintaining their investment in a stock over a given period. Investors receive returns in a number of ways, including share price appreciation, dividends, simple capital transactions such as share restructuring. The TSR is a single, composite measure to assess these factors in combination.

2005 - In a Total Shareholder Return (TSR) ranking of all 515 companies listed on the Singapore Exchange as at 31 Dec 2004 undertaken by global consulting group, LEK Consulting, published in The Business Times on 29 April 2005, Great Eastern Holdings ranked No.7 with a five-year TSR of 25.4 % and No. 9 with a 10-year TSR of 10.3% among companies with a market capitalisation exceeding S$1 billion.

LEK Consulting calculated the TSR, which included share price gains, monthly re-invested dividends and share adjustments over specific time frames. TSR is used to give a clearer picture of a company's returns by using a single, composite measure that takes all these into account. The results are then annualised to represent an average compounded return over the respective periods.

2004 - In the ranking conducted by global strategy consulting group LEK Consulting, we ranked No. 5 with a five-year Total Shareholder Return (TSR) of 20.4% and No. 8 with a ten-year TSR of 9.5%, among 54 companies with a market capitalisation above S$1 billion as at June 2004. The comparative returns for the ST Index are a negative 3.2% return over five years and a 0.1% return over ten years.

2003 - The Business Times reported that out of 275 listed companies on the Singapore Stock Exchange, Great Eastern ranked No. 8 in terms of the total absolute value created for shareholders in six years from January 1998 to December 2003. With the share price increasing from $2.53 on 2 Jan 1998 to $10.80 on 17 Dec 2003, the Company has created a total value of $3,260.5 million, after adjusting for any additional rights or share placements, and including total capital distributions and dividends paid. We also ranked No. 2 in terms of compounded annual return among top companies with a market capitalisation above $2 billion.

2002 - In 2002, Great Eastern ranked No. 1 in the three-year category and No. 2 in the five-year category, with Total Shareholder Returns (TSR) of 24.3% and 23.4% respectively in the Shareholder Value Scorecard. This ranking was jointly produced by The Business Times and global strategy consulting group LEK Consulting for 400 large companies with a market capitalisation of more than S$1 billion. Overall, the average TSR for the 400 stocks in the Singapore market was a negative 6% over a three-year period and 4.1% over five years.

Reader's Digest SuperBrands

Great Eastern has been voted by consumers as a Gold SuperBrand (Insurance Category) in both Singapore and Malaysia, in the Reader's Digest SuperBrands 2005 survey.

Now into its 7th year, the Reader's Digest Asia SuperBrand Survey compiled 6,000 responses across six key markets in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand for 42 categories of products ranging from the kitchen to the office, from the gas station to the luxury hotel.

Gold Superbrand status is awarded to brands whose performance rated significantly above others in their category. We achieved the highest ratings from consumers based on quality, value, trustworthiness, strong image and our understanding of consumer needs.

Superbrand Singapore

Great Eastern has been named a "Superbrand" once again in the second edition of "Superbrands Singapore" for 2004/2005. We have met all the criteria of being an established Company that commands Market Dominance, Goodwill, Customer Loyalty and Overall Market Acceptance - the hallmarks of a great brand. Based on these criteria, we were also named the "Leading Local Brand" among all 89 brands in the running. Our "Superbrands Singapore" book comes with a customised cover for Great Eastern. It is produced by Superbrands, a company that has an established record of selecting "Superbrands" in 40 countries over the past decade.

Great Eastern and OCBC rank top in Corporate Governance Disclosures!

Great Eastern Holdings and its parent company OCBC Bank are both in the top five positions (unranked) in a comparison of corporate governance disclosures of all 45 companies on the ST Index.

This study was jointly conducted in 2004 by Standard and Poor's and the Corporate Governance & Financial Reporting Centre at the National University of Singapore.

Using information in annual reports, companies are assessed in respect of their disclosures regarding corporate governance structures, processes and practices such as independence of the board, disclosure of director's details, CEO-Chairman separation, frequency of and attendance at board meetings, major board committees, remuneration and audit matters and communication with shareholders.

While companies in Singapore generally have done well compared to other companies in Asia, the top five companies stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Sunday, 1 September 2013

The Company

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