|
Why does Corporate Governance of State Owned Enterprises matter?
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are big players in many economies, even after the extensive privatisations of the last 20 years. How these firms are run is crucial to the economic efficiency and competitiveness of the countries where they are based. In a world of growing interdependence and changing technology, tough competition has already forced many SOEs to restructure and in some cases governments have responded by changing the ways they exercise their ownership roles. Both OECD and non-OECD countries can learn from past experience as they look to future reforms.
What is the OECD is doing in this area?
The OECD’s Working Group on Privatisation and Corporate Governance of State-Owned Assets is developing a set of guidelines on the corporate governance of state-owned enterprises as a complement to the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance which have now become a touchstone for excellence in the corporate governance of listed and privately owned companies. Although these Guidelines, like the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, will be non-binding, they will provide a basis for policy makers to address specific governance issues in the state sector. They will deal with such topics as how ownership should be organised, how boards should be appointed, what responsibilities they should be given, and how to ensure transparency and accountability vis-à-vis both the state, as shareholder, and society as the ultimate owner.
How is the OECD developing these Guidelines?
The Working Group has consulted representatives of state institutions in charge of SOEs and managers of SOEs in OECD and non-OECD countries, as well as trade union officials, members of Parliament and representatives of state bodies in charge of supervising SOEs. In parallel with the Guidelines, it is drafting a report on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises in OECD countries, to be issued with the Guidelines in 2005.
Why is the OECD now conducting a public consultation on the draft Guidelines?
The OECD is inviting public comment now because it believes that this will help to make the final text more relevant to the needs and concerns of policy makers, managers and users.
Who should get involved and what sort of input would be useful?
The invitation to comment is an open one, but it is particularly aimed at people charged with supervising state-owned enterprises, members of relevant professional associations, people who work in SOEs, Members of Parliaments and experts from international organisations. People are invited to comment on the overall structure of the Guidelines and their annotations, as well as on their scope and their content. The Working Group welcomes specific suggestions for wording and for additional areas that might be covered. While the current text represents work in progress and reflects discussions in the Working Group and comments provided during the consultation meetings in October, it should be noted that it is issued under the responsibility of the OECD Secretariat. In order to ensure that comments are available for consideration by participating bodies at their next meeting, please send them to corporate.affairs@oecd.org by 28 January 2005.
What will happen next?
The OECD Secretariat intends to publish all comments on the OECD web site with details of their sender before the end of February, except in cases where the sender specifically asks for comments not to be published or to be posted anonymously. The Working Group will then continue its discussions and will take account of comments received during this public consultation as well as additional comments provided by members of the Working Group and the OECD Steering Group on Corporate Governance in February and March. The Guidelines are expected to be made public in their final form during the course of the Spring of 2005.
Download the text of the draft guidelines in English here
Télécharger le texte en français
|
