opportunities for investors with different risk - return appetites, allow portfolio diversification, and create more investor interest in our debt market. to widen the credit spectrum of foreign entities tapping the singapore dollar bond market, mas will allow the following to issue singapore dollar denominated bonds : a ) all rated foreign corporates ; b ) all sovereigns, rated or unrated ; and c ) unrated foreign corporates, provided the investor base is restricted to sophisticated investors. 1 however, the requirement for the non - resident issuers to convert or swap the s $ proceeds into foreign currency for use outside singapore remains. mas still does not allow s $ funding of non - residents where the proceeds are to be used outside singapore, or for purposes which do not generate economic value to singapore. s $ equity listing related to the bond market is the development of the asian equities market. companies will increasingly turn to the equity market to raise capital or reduce their debt - equity ratios. they will either seek to list in their home exchange or list abroad, and their shares will often be traded on more than one exchange. the singapore stock exchange aims to be one of the centres in the asian equities market. foreign companies seeking to list on ses often want to do so in s $. this enables them to tap the local investor base, which contributes significantly to liquidity, and hence to higher stock valuations. however, we have required foreign companies wanting to list in s $ to have at least 20 % of their revenues, profits, or expenses attributable to singapore. mas has now decided to remove this requirement. we will allow all foreign - owned companies to list s $ denominated shares freely on ses, without consultation, subject of course to meeting ses ’ listing defined in the companies act ( cap 50 ) as an individual whose total net personal assets exceed s $ 1 million or its equivalent in foreign currencies or whose income in the preceding 12 months is not less than s $ 200, 000 or its equivalent in foreign currencies ; or a corporation whose total net assets exceed s $ 5 million in value or its equivalent in foreign currencies as determined by the last audited balance sheet of the corporation. requirements. however, the s $ proceeds from the share issue must be maintained with a bank in singapore and converted into foreign currency before they can be used outside singapore. foreign - owned companies whose shares are currently traded in foreign currencies on ses

singapore's code of corporate governance. the code was last reviewed in 2005 and took effect for all agms held on or after 1 january 2007. the code has served us well. however, this financial crisis has thrown up valuable lessons on corporate governance. members of our media, academia and the corporate and financial sector have also been suggesting possible improvements, and several overseas jurisdictions have also completed or are in the process of updating their own codes. it is therefore timely for us to embark on another review. in determining the scope of the review, the council could consider the suggestions for improvements from stakeholders, and developments in other jurisdictions, taking into account the local context where relevant. higher standards for banks & insurance companies this financial crisis has shown that the failures of financial institutions with significant operations can destabilise the entire financial system, and severely disrupt economic activities. mas'approach has been to require high regulatory and prudential standards for locally incorporated banks and life insurance companies as well as standards of corporate governance that are more stringent than what they have to observe as listed companies. locally incorporated banks and significant life insurers are required to comply with the corporate governance regulations which are mandatory as opposed to the code which is applied on a " comply or explain " basis. the corporate governance regulations also impose more stringent requirements regarding the composition of boards and board committees. mas is in the midst of reviewing the corporate governance framework for locally incorporated banks and insurers. the review will focus on the effectiveness of risk management at the board level, including the role played by boards in safeguarding the safety and soundness of their institutions and in addressing market conduct risks. this would include a review of the board's role in setting remuneration policies to manage risks effectively and the need for the board to comprise members with relevant expertise and experience in the technical, financial and operational aspects of risk management of the various lines of business of the financial institution. mas will also review the need to further tighten the definition of independence by requiring the nominating committee to consider the length of service on the board as an additional criterion in determining the independence of a director. with regards to remuneration practices, mas has done an initial assessment of the practices of our local banks against the principles for sound compensation practices issued by the financial stability board. we support the idea of aligning compensation with appropriate risktaking. as the core issue is the holistic management of risks across the institution, mas will, in our implementation of these