新加坡合作社要动用储备金来支付股息，不是一件简单的事

以下是英文质询内容：

The Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth (Mr Alvin Tan):

First, let me address the need for the safeguards for use of reserves. Mr Mark Lee commented that allowing co-ops to pay dividends from their reserves contrasts with the corporate practice of paying out dividends only from retained profits. He made a comparison. Mr Mark Lee also noted that this may be of concern for credit co-ops particularly given that the drawdown of reserves would reduce their institutional capital and therefore their CAR. Mr Mark Lee also asked about the safeguards to help credit co-ops make prudent decisions as they pay dividends from their reserves.

Currently, a co-op may only pay dividends from the preceding year's surplus. We propose to allow them to tap their reserves to pay dividends and honoraria, subject to the Registrar's approval. This will allow co-ops to tap only on their general, unallocated reserves, such as the "Accumulated Surplus" and reserves allocated specifically to the payment of dividends or honoraria as the case may be. This will be made clear to co-ops through issued guidelines.

I also agree with Mr Mark Lee that credit co-ops must maintain adequate capital buffers and ensure adequate safeguards to protect members' interests. There are two layers of safeguards over using reserves to pay dividends or honoraria.

First, co-ops must seek the Registrar's approval. The Registrar will also consider factors, like reasonableness of proposed rates compared to previous years, past compliance track records of the co-op's, strength of governance and particularly for credit co-ops, if these credit co-ops have met prudential requirements. Credit co-ops must also demonstrate that they can meet the prevailing minimum CAR after their proposed dividend or honoraria payment. Second, of course, co-ops must obtain members' approval.

Moving on to the second category of questions on the process for Registrar's approval, Mr Neil Parekh, Mr Don Wee and Mr Yip Hon Weng asked questions regarding the obtaining of Registrar's approval for payment from reserves and the impact that this approval may have.

The Registrar will issue guidelines to co-ops on the information and documents that co-ops need to submit or provide to the Registrar. These will set clear expectations for co-ops on the pre-requisites for the application and allow the Registry to focus on co-ops which satisfy the pre-requisites.

Upon receiving Registrar’s approval, the co-op must seek members’ approval with a specific resolution at their AGM. This will ensure adequate disclosure on the proposed use of reserves. Members will also be able to refer to the co-op’s audited financial statements, which will also be tabled for members’ approval. This enables members to understand the financial impact of such payments on the reserves, if any, before making an informed decision. Co-ops must hold their AGMs within six months from the financial year-end, so there is enough time for them to obtain Registrar’s approval before conducting their AGM.

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