Corporate Governance Regional Roundtables

Introduction

Good corporate governance is essential for the development of a competitive private sector that in the long-term is able to attract and retain the capital needed for investment. Regional Roundtables on Corporate Governance have proven to be an efficient way to maintain a continuous framework for policy-dialogue and multilateral exchange of experience, drawing on the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance as a reference. The Roundtables, organised in co-operation with the IFC/World Bank Corporate Governance Department,  assure an inclusive approach, building on close partnership with the most important constituents in the respective countries and regions.  The first phase of the Roundtable process included the drafting of regional  White Papers, setting out priorities and recommendations for the region. The current phase focuses on policy-design, implementation and enforcement.  The Roundtables are carried out with the support of the Global Corporate Governance Forum, co-founded by the World Bank and the OECD to advocate, support and disseminate high standards and practices of corporate governance in developing and transition economies.
A summary of the main experiences from the Roundtables can be found here.

Regions

Currently, there are five Regional Roundtables:

• Asian Corporate Governance Roundtable
• Eurasian Corporate Governance Roundtable
• Latin American Corporate Governance Roundtable and Companies Circle   
• Russian Corporate Governance Roundtable 
• South East Europe Corporate Governance Roundtable

The OECD has also more recently initiated policy dialogue programmes on corporate governance in three other regions:

• China
• The Middle East and North Africa
• Africa

Goals and Objectives

The overall goal of the Corporate Governance Roundtables is to assist decision-makers from the private and public sectors in the region in their efforts to improve corporate governance. This is achieved by providing a forum for continuing dialogue in the regions.

Its objectives are to:

• Promote better governance in the regions
• Improve the understanding of corporate governance and assist in developing policy responses
• Promote an ongoing dialogue on corporate governance experiences between private and public sectors
• Monitor and evaluate progress in the regions
• Identify possible needs for technical assistance and match supply and demand in this area
• Inform the international community about national and regional reform initiatives

Main Outputs

The main outputs of the Roundtables include:

• A Report of Experiences, that draws upon the experiences of the first 25 meetings of the Corporate Governance Roundtables for Asia, Eurasia, Latin America, Russia and South East Europe to identify the major corporate governance issues faced by developing and emerging economies as well as potential solutions
• White Papers - As a result of the policy meetings, the Asia, Latin America, Russia and South East Europe Roundtables have issued White Papers, targeting the most urgent areas for improvement. The Eurasian Roundtable has issued a comparative report.
• Publications/Communication - Background documentation for Roundtable discussions is made public and disseminated, along with further information on related issues, through  dedicated websites.
• Annual Policy Meetings - an annual forum for a network of senior policy-makers, regulators, companies and market participants to discuss their contributions to improving governance.