Publications

The Review of Corporate Governance in Latvia was prepared as part of the process of Latvia’s accession to OECD Membership. The report describes the corporate governance setting for both listed companies and the state-owned sector (SOEs). The Review then examines the legal and regulatory framework and company practices to assess the degree to which the recommendations of the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises have been implemented. The report finds that Latvia's framework for the corporate governance of listed companies is largely consistent with the Principles. However, the report recommends a series of measures to further strengthen the corporate governance framework, which could help to deepen its currently small capital market and attract investment. For SOEs, the report recognises considerable reforms undertaken during the accession review process to establish an ownership co-ordination unit and to begin re-establishing boards of directors (which had been abolished in 2009). The report calls for consolidation of these reforms and also stresses the importance of clarifying SOE objectives and strategies, and enhancing disclosure.

The G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance help policy makers evaluate and improve the legal, regulatory, and institutional framework for corporate governance, with a view to supporting economic efficiency, sustainable growth and financial stability. They are one of the Key Standards for Sound Financial Systems adopted by the Financial Stability Board (FSB). The associated Methodology for Assessing the Implementation of the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance was developed by the OECD Corporate Governance Committee, with the participation of the World Bank, to underpin an assessment of the implementation of the Principles in a jurisdiction and to provide a framework for policy discussions, for example in the context of the Reviews of Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs) or other country assessments. This latest version incorporates changes that were made to the Principles during the 2015 review as well as a number of additional clarifications.