- Recent developments (as of October 2025)
- Global markets and public equity ownership 2.2. Public equity ownership by investor category 2.3. Ownership concentration by market
- Corporate governance and institutional framework
- The rights of shareholders and key ownership functions
- The board of directors
- Corporate sustainability
OECD Corporate Governance Factbook 2025: Latvia
Table of contents
This Country Note consolidates information published in the 2025 edition of the OECD Corporate Governance Factbook. Along with the summary of recent developments, it provides an overview of Latvia’s corporate governance framework and related information benchmarked against 51 other jurisdictions covered by the Factbook, including all OECD and G20 members.
The information in this document is as of 31 December 2024 unless otherwise specified.
For further details, please refer to the OECD Corporate Governance Factbook 2025.
Latvia’s Corporate Governance Code, last updated by the Advisory Board for Corporate Governance in 2020, has served since 2023 as the exclusive basis for drafting of listed companies’ corporate governance statements. This supports improved comparability and quality of corporate reporting on governance matters.1 Work on a revised code is currently underway.2
In June 2023, amendments to the Commercial Law entered into force, including provisions to:
Introduce a comprehensive share reform to enhance ownership transparency and align corporate practices with international anti-money laundering standards3;
Modernise the procedure for convening and holding shareholders’ meetings4; and
Strengthen the supervisory role of the supervisory board in relation to the management board’s activities and the company’s development.5
In October 2024, the Law on Sustainability Disclosures entered into force to implement the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).6
In October 2024, amendments to the Law on Audit Services took effect stating the requirements for statutory auditors and statutory audit firms regarding the provision of sustainability report assurance service and for the competent audit oversight authorities on supervision of this service.
In October 2024, amendments to the Financial Instrument Market Law took effect, prescribing new responsibilities of the capital company’s audit committee (if such a company has an obligation to prepare a sustainability report) to supervise the process of preparing the sustainability report, consolidated sustainability report and the performance of the assurance task for these reports.
In December 2024, amendments to the Commercial Law entered into force, introducing new provisions on parental leave for members of the management board (Article 224¹).7
In July 2025, amendments to the Law on Audit Services enterd into force inter alia including updates and clarified definition of the public interest entities.8
In October 2025, amendments to the Law on Sustainability Disclosures entered into force as part of the European Commission’s Omnibus I Sustainability Package.9
|
No. of listed companies in Dec 2024 |
Change since Dec 2021 |
Market capitalisation in Dec 2024 |
Ratio to GDP |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Latvia |
13 |
|
8.3% |
USD 0.55 bn |
1.3% |
|
OECD members |
21 618 |
|
4.3% |
USD 92 518 bn |
136.5% |
|
World |
46 086 |
|
11.3% |
USD 124 536 bn |
112.7% |
Note: “World” covers 98 jurisdictions. “OECD members” covers 38 countries.
Source: OECD Capital Market Series Dataset. IMF.
Source: OECD Capital Market Series Dataset.
Source: OECD Capital Market Series Dataset.
The categories that the jurisdiction fits into are highlighted in blue.
The bold numbers and words indicate country-specific additional information.
The numbers within parentheses indicate the number of jurisdictions applicable to each category.
For further information on the methodologies used for the categorisations, please see the OECD Corporate Governance Factbook 2025.
* Some jurisdictions belong to multiple categories because of the additional requirements other than a percentage of shareholding.
* Jurisdictions where mandatory takeover bid rules exist are included.
** Some jurisdictions belong to multiple categories.
* Some jurisdictions belong to multiple categories.
* Some jurisdictions belong to multiple categories.
* Some jurisdictions belong to multiple categories.
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.
This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
The full book is available in English: OECD (2025), OECD Corporate Governance Factbook 2025, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/f4f43735-en.
© OECD 2025
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← 1. Between December 2020 and 2023, issuers were guided by the guidelines developed by both the AS “Nasdaq Riga” and the Code when drafting corporate governance statements.
← 2. The updated Code will encourage proactive action and transparency rather than formal compliance. Key updates include: integration of sustainability throughout the Code, including in strategy, risk management, and disclosure; a new “explain how you comply” approach (replacing “comply or explain”), new principles for group governance, defining transparent responsibility sharing and disclosure within corporate groups; enhanced supervisory board composition and independence requirements, with emphasis on diversity, competence, and periodic self-evaluation; expanded internal control and risk management provisions, including the supervisory board’s role in setting risk appetite; clearer guidance on external auditor selection and rotation, and inclusion of sustainability reporting review; and modernised terminology to reflect contemporary practice.
← 3. All public limited liability companies, regardless of the type of shares issued, are now required to submit information on shareholders to the Enterprise Register and update it upon any change in the shareholders’ register. Companies whose shares are registered in financial instruments accounts must report their largest shareholders. The reform also introduced two standard share types – registered and dematerialised shares – with a requirement to choose one type and ensure a single, transparent record either in the company’s shareholders’ register or in the Central Securities Depository. Companies failing to disclose shareholder information may be subject to dissolution and removal from the Commercial Register.
← 4. The amendments apply to both private limited liability and public limited liability companies. The amendments shortened the minimum notice period for convening shareholders’ meetings from 30 to 21 days (for public limited liability companies), introduced an obligation to make meeting materials primarily available electronically, and allowed physical copies only for those shareholders who cannot access digital communication tools. The changes simplify meeting procedures, reduce administrative burden and costs, and promote the digitalisation and accessibility of corporate governance processes.
← 5. The amendments to Article 291 clarified that the supervisory board has a duty to act in the interests of the company as a whole, replacing the previous provision under which the supervisory board represented the interests of the shareholders. The same legislative package also introduced changes to the composition and responsibilities of the supervisory board. The minimum number of supervisory board members is now three for all companies, whereas previously five members were required for public companies. In addition, the supervisory board was assigned new statutory duties – to approve the company’s general principles of operation, development and financial objectives, monitor their implementation, and oversee the functioning of the internal control and risk management systems. The amendments also prescribe a new responsibility of the members or the management board, and to the supervisory board, if the company has one, to take a decision on conducting a special inspection in case when written information has been received from the statutory auditor about the findings of the statutory auditor on deficiencies in the company's operating environment (including the internal control system), which may create a risk of corruption. As these provisions of the Commercial Law are relatively new, both companies and statutory auditors currently continue the work on its implementation in practice.
← 6. The law requires large companies, listed SMEs and certain subsidiaries and branches of third-country undertakings to disclose sustainability-related information in accordance with EU sustainability reporting standards (ESRS), covering their business model, strategy, targets, governance and due diligence processes.
← 7. The amendments establish a clear legal framework for management board members to take maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave without losing their position, while ensuring continuity of company`s management. During the leave period, the mandate of the management board member is suspended and may be resumed afterwards, and a temporary board member may be appointed to maintain governance continuity. These amendments significantly improve the social, economic and legal protection of management board members and strengthen gender equality in corporate leadership.
← 8. As of July 2025, commercial companies registered in Latvia and whose transferable securities are listed on a regulated market of Latvia or any other Member State and financial institutions are considered to be the public interest entities.
← 9. The amendments postpone by two years the sustainability reporting obligations for companies that were originally set to begin reporting from the 2025 or 2026 reporting year, i.e., large companies (initially set for reporting year 2025) will now report in 2027, and listed SMEs (initially set for reporting year 2026) will now report in 2028.
← 10. Note: “World” covers 98 jurisdictions.
← 11. Note: The share of companies in each jurisdiction where the single largest shareholder and the three largest shareholders own more than 50% of the company’s equity capital. “World” covers 98 jurisdictions.