Graphs Used in ASEAN Trading Link's Annual Reports: Evidence from Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore

This study reports a preliminary finding of the types and numbers of graphs being presented in the annual reports of about thirty top listed companies trading publicly in the stock markets of three countries-Thailand (SET), Malaysia (BM), and Singapore (SGX)-that were chosen based on their inclusion in the ASEAN Stars Index under the ASEAN Trading Link project. A total of 6,753 graphs from nineteen sectors were extracted and examined. Banking, real estate, and telecommunications are ranked the three most condense sectors, accounting for 50.2% of the total number of graphs observed. The three most used graphs are the Conservative Bar, Donut graph and Stack Bar. Less than one percent of Infographic type graphs were used. The five most depicted graphed variables are Asset, Revenue, Net profit, Liability, and Dividend. Using rudimentary framework to detect distorted or misleading statistical graphs, the study found 60.6% of the graphs distorted across the three markets, SET, BM, and SGX. BM ranked first in percentages of graphs being distortedly presented (73%). The other two markets, SET and SGX, have about the same proportions, 53.88% and 53.03%, respectively. Likewise, the proportions of Well-designed versus Inappropriate-designed graphs of the latter two markets are a little over one time (SET = 1 : 1.17; SGX = 1 : 1.13), whereas the proportion is almost triple for the BM market (BM = 1 : 2.70). In addition, the trend of distorted graphs found is slightly increasing as the longevity of the ASEAN Stars Index increases. One possible explanation for the relatively equal proportion of inappropriate graphs found is that SET is the smallest market and SGX, though the largest, is the most regulated market. BM, on the other hand, may want to present their financial data in the most attractive manner to prospective investors, thus, regulatory constraints and governance structure are still lenient.