We place great emphasis on promoting long-term relationships with our stakeholders. Consistent and important updates on the Group’s financial performance, strategic direction and business developments are provided through multiple channels to the investment community to assist them in making informed and timely investment decisions.

Wilmar’s Investor Relations (IR) team maintains regular two-way communication with investors through various touch points including one-on-one meetings, group meetings, local and overseas investor conferences, results briefings, teleconferences and roadshows to engage the investment community. These interactions encourage active dialogue on the Group’s financial performance, current industry trends, prospects and sustainability issues.

In 2017, the management and IR team held about 100 meetings with over 220 investors. Stakeholders are also able to have their queries answered via e-mails or phone calls in a prompt and accurate manner. We also participated in local and overseas investor conferences and roadshows, covering Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, London, Rotterdam, Paris and Zurich. These channels allow us to effectively reach out to existing and potential new investors.

Held on 25 April 2017, the Group’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was well-attended by over 300 shareholders. The AGM commenced with a presentation by the Chief Financial Officer on the Group’s progress and financial highlights in the past year. This was followed by an update on our environmental, social and governance performance by the Chief Sustainability Officer. In addition to having direct communication with the Board of Directors, shareholders could raise questions to the Senior Management team who was also present at the interactive session. As our consumer products are not currently available in Singapore, we set up a product showcase so that shareholders could be familiar with our diverse product offering across various markets.

The Investor Day took place right after the AGM. Since 2014, we have been organising the Investor Day to serve as a platform for investors to have closer interaction with the Senior Management team and gain a better understanding of the Group’s business activities and operations. It includes a question-and-answer session with Wilmar’s Chief Executive Officer and the heads of strategic business units. We continue to foster close relations with sell-side research analysts. Currently, about 15 analysts provide coverage on Wilmar.

The IR website is a key resource for corporate and stock information, financial data, policies, quarterly financial results, annual reports and significant business developments. All disclosures submitted to the Singapore Exchange (SGX) are uploaded to the Investors & Media section of the Group’s corporate website in a timely manner. Members of the investment community can also subscribe to our e-mail alerts and request for information through the website.

In recent years, we have seen a growing interest in environmental, social and governance issues amongst investors. Together with the Group’s Sustainability team, the IR team keeps investors informed of our sustainability endeavours. At the same time, we make available on the Group’s Sustainability Dashboard resource materials such as the quarterly reports on the implementation progress of our No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation policy, the sustainability report which will be published annually going forward as well as sustainability briefs on various programmes.

The Group continues to look for opportunities to enhance shareholder value and has been focused on expanding our Consumer Products business. The growth in this area has been recognised and reflected in Wilmar’s inclusion in the FTSE ST Consumer Goods & Services Index as well as the FTSE ST Consumer Goods & Services Liquid 20 Index in March 2017.

In May 2017, we announced the intention to list the Group’s operations in China on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. We completed the restructuring of the Chinese operations in 2017 and are targeting to list the restructured entity in 2019 after it has achieved a full year (2018) of audited accounts.

With good economic performance in key Asian countries, we remain optimistic about the future of Asia. Our investment in growth opportunities will continue to align with the objective of creating long-term value for shareholders. We are proposing a total cash dividend of 10 Singapore cents per share for the year, representing around 39% of the Group’s net profit in 2017.