The Social Security Board owns approximately 34% of the shares in BTL and by virtue of that shareholding, they are entitled to appoint three members to the board. That is, for every 10% shareholding they are entitled to one director.
With the new configuration of the BTL board which was announced on Monday December 7, there is no indication which, if any, of six directors will actually represent the Social Security Board. Another concern that has been raised as a result of the new appointments is if the NTUCB will have any representation on the BTL board.
We spoke with Marvin Mora, the President of the NTUCB and he said he was not concerned about the body’s lack of representation on the BTL board. He noted that NTUCB was only represented on BTL by virtue of their representation on the Social Security Board. As it is configured, the NTUCB has two members on the board and one in the investment committee of SSB.
While Mora was not too concerned about NTUCB’s representation on BTL, he did say that it would be a plus to have them on these kinds of boards as they represent employees and have that unique perspective. He added that wherever government has finances invested it would be good to have the NTUCB represented as that would truly signify that there is some level of transparency and accountability.
