Boardroom Knockout: How Singapore’s Investor Watchdog Fights for Minority Shareholders

Directors absconding with millions in their pockets, foreign agents looking to destabilise companies, and thousands of individuals staring at a lifetime of savings gone. For the Securities Investors Association (Singapore), or SIAS, these are the cases they have had to deal with on an almost daily basis. Founded by the indomitable David Gerald, the association was created in 1999 to fight for 172,000 investors in Singapore who had billions of their savings frozen by the Malaysian government. They have since grown to a movement of thousands that fights for and protects the rights of minority shareholders.

The association has fought many more rounds against other heavyweights in high-profile corporate scandals that have dogged Singapore’s financial sector. From the China Aviation Oil scandal to the meltdown of Hyflux to the Lehman Brothers minibond saga, SIAS has been in the thick of the action, representing minority shareholders who would have otherwise been voiceless.

Boardroom Knockout: How Singapore’s Investor Watchdog Fights for Minority Investors tells a story of unique shareholder activism – where the fights are in the boardroom and not the courtroom. The book brings readers the inside story behind the scandals, while showing how activists went toe-to-toe with the biggest corporations in Singapore. From the people who brought you The Last Fools comes another thrilling tale, charting the remarkable journey of the champions of Singapore’s retail investors.