Too busy for shareholders

A few companies listed on the Singapore stock exchange have struggled with the new requirement for companies to submit their full-year results within 60 days.

In The Straits Times today, one such company, Kyodo-Allied, who submitted their results for the year to 30 June 2004 on 31 August -- a couple of days late -- gave the excuse that its directors were too busy.

When people say they are too busy to complete a particular task, it usually means one of two possibilities to me. One is that they don't know how to plan their time. The other is that the task is not high enough on their list of priorities.

Don't know how to plan their time? Reporting to shareholders not a high priority? Either reason for late submission shouldn't be too comforting for shareholders of these companies.