The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has called on Philippine listed companies to raise their corporate governance standards to regional benchmarks, warning that the country continues to trail its Southeast Asian neighbors in the race for international capital.

Lagging the Regional Scorecard

“We cannot simply expect global investors to adjust to what we want,” SEC Chairman Francisco Ed. Lim said at the Institute of Corporate Directors’ 2026 Golden Arrow Awards on Oct. 23. “On the contrary, we must adjust to what global investors demand. If we want their capital, we must first earn their confidence.”

Investor confidence, he added, begins with transparency, accountability and compliance with international standards. Rather than focusing on collecting awards, Mr. Lim said, Philippine companies should aim to rank among the region’s best-governed firms.

The scale of the gap is laid out in data from the 2024 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Corporate Governance Scorecard, which placed the Philippines fourth among six participating economies with an average score of 89.27, below the regional average of 91.2. The numbers put a figure on the challenge he described — and on the stakes, since Mr. Lim tied access to foreign capital directly to the confidence that governance standards are meant to build.

Only six Philippine companies made it into Southeast Asia’s top 50 listed companies, according to the same data. Malaysia had 17, Thailand 16 and Singapore eight. The Philippines also trailed its neighbors in the broader ASEAN asset class, with 35 qualifying companies compared with 74 from Thailand, 65 from Malaysia and 53 from Singapore.

“We should celebrate the 35 that have made it to the ASEAN asset class,” Mr. Lim said. “But we should also ask a tougher question: Why only 35?”

He noted that companies in neighboring markets treat corporate governance as a board-level responsibility and a measure of corporate excellence, rather than a compliance exercise. That distinction carries weight in a region moving toward closer capital-market integration, where Mr. Lim said competitiveness depends on meeting shared enforcement, investor-protection and governance standards.

Regional Integration and Cross-Listings

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2026 ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) International Conference in Manila last week, Mr. Lim said deeper integration among Southeast Asian capital markets remains a long-term goal, but one that requires markets to improve enforcement, investor protection, resilience and governance standards.

“We have to step up,” he said. “We cannot say the regional market should adjust to us, the global market should adjust. That will never happen.”

“We have to prepare ourselves as a market to stay competitive not only among ourselves but also with our regional peers. Otherwise, we’ll be left behind,” Mr. Lim added, speaking in mixed English and Filipino.

Cross-listings among ASEAN exchanges, he said, remain a work in progress but could eventually become more common, making it necessary for Philippine companies and market institutions to prepare. For Philippine issuers, that preparation would mean measuring up to peers in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, which together account for far more qualifying companies under the ASEAN asset class. Mr. Lim also backed efforts to make the domestic market more attractive to issuers, so that companies would have stronger incentives to maintain local listings.

Reform Agenda

Corporate governance reforms and market development are among the priorities Mr. Lim identified for the SEC, with the aim of raising overall market standards. He acknowledged that some reforms had faced resistance but said challenges were part of the process.

“I know there have been pushbacks, but that’s part of the report,” he said. “You don’t expect reports to be accepted just like that. There will challenges.”

The ACMF’s 2026-2030 action plan includes studies on ASEAN cross-listings, depositary receipts and regional market indices, as well as the proposed ASEAN Diamonds initiative, a group of well-governed listed companies intended to serve as regional benchmarks for investors and issuers. Those studies and the eventual makeup of the ASEAN Diamonds group give the market concrete markers to follow, and the current scorecard counts — 35 Philippine companies in the ASEAN asset class and six in the top 50 — offer a baseline for gauging whether the reform agenda narrows the regional gap.

Source: BusinessWorld, reporting by Juliana Chloe A. Gonzales and Alexandria Grace C. Magno