SINGAPORE Post (SingPost) said its board’s objective throughout recent investigations into the handling of whistleblowing reports has been to “act in the best interests of the company and its shareholders by upholding a high level of governance”.
Responding to queries by the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (Sias) on Sunday (Dec 29), the postal services provider said its internal controls and risk management systems were considered “adequate” when it came to addressing risks which SingPost considered relevant and material to its operations and finances.
“However, no system of internal controls, no matter how robust, can provide absolute assurance against deliberate misconduct or fraud,” said the group.
In its separate response to stakeholders, SingPost reiterated that investigations into the whistleblowing matter concluded that the issue was isolated and limited only to its contract with a specific customer and the practices of three former staff from its international business unit (IBU) operations.
The group nonetheless told Sias that key findings from its internal investigation report would not be published, as its eventual settlement with the affected customer was deemed to have no material financial impact on the group.
When queried by Sias on SingPost’s update on its working relationship with the affected customer, the group said: “The contract with the customer was renewed in August 2024, and the salient terms of the renewed contract with the customer were renegotiated taking into account acceptable key performance indicators. The terms of the previous and current contracts with the customer are confidential.”
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Search for group CEO continues
The group also addressed concerns raised by Sias over the sale of its Australia business, saying the transaction was not expected to be affected by the termination of its three former key management executives.
To recap, SingPost on Dec 22 announced the terminations of Vincent Yik, Vincent Phang and Yu Li over the mishandling of internal investigations regarding a whistleblower’s report. Phang was SingPost’s group chief executive officer at the time, while Yik was group chief financial officer. Yu was chief executive of the IBU.
In its response to Sias’ queries on how the board would find suitable replacements for these three senior roles, SingPost said it would announce a new group chief executive “in due course”.
While evaluating the appointment for Phang’s replacement, the group said it would consider the change in its profile following the divestment of its Australia business, as well as a subsequent need for a review of the group’s strategy.
In the interim, SingPost’s board chairman Simon Israel will provide guidance and oversight to the senior management leadership team. The group intends for the current chief financial officer of its Australia business, Isaac Mah, to assume the role of group chief financial officer.
SingPost’s current head for the south district of IBU Gan Heng was more recently appointed as the unit’s acting chief executive officer.
Gan joined SingPost’s Singapore Business Unit in 2021 before joining IBU as the south district leader in September 2024 with a focus on the group’s subsidiary businesses in South-east Asia.
“Having straddled both the international and local arms of the business, Mr Gan is familiar with the postal and logistics landscape and has worked with many international and local partners,” said SingPost in responses to both Sias and stakeholders.
Shares of the group were unmoved at S$0.52 as at 10.39 am on Monday.
