STO leads listed market with 97.5% governance compliance in CMDA review

State Trading Organization (STO) recorded the highest corporate governance compliance rate in the Capital Market Development Authority’s (CMDA) 2025 Corporate Governance Review, achieving 97.5% among the eight listed companies assessed.

The review assessed listed companies that had published their 2025 annual reports and audited financial statements by 30 June 2026. Maldives Transport and Contracting Company and Centurion were excluded as they had not published the required reports by the cut-off date.

Overall corporate governance compliance among the companies assessed stood at 92.9%, compared with 88% in 2024 and 86% in 2023. CMDA cautioned that the results are not directly comparable across years due to changes in the number of companies and provisions assessed.

CMDA highlighted several areas of STO’s reporting as examples of good practice. The company disclosed that its directors completed eight training programmes during 2025, with MVR 1,025,597 invested in director training. CMDA described this as the most complete director training disclosure in the market.

STO was also recognised for its internal audit reporting structure. Its Chief Audit Executive reports functionally to the Chairperson of the Audit and Risk Committee and administratively to the Chief Executive, which CMDA described as the clearest articulation of internal audit reporting lines among the companies reviewed.

The company was also the only one assessed as complying with the requirement for one-third of the board to be subject to election each year. STO exceeds the requirement by appointing all directors for one-year terms, with directors subject to reappointment or replacement at the following annual general meeting.

Despite recording the highest overall compliance rate, STO had one finding under Audit and Internal Control relating to the financial expertise of its Audit Committee. CMDA found that only one of the four committee members serving during 2025 held a clearly identified accounting or financial qualification.

CMDA also identified STO as one of two companies already publishing sustainability disclosures at approximately the standard expected when the Maldives Sustainability Reporting Framework becomes mandatory for the 2026 reporting cycle.