Reports

The Romanian government has undertaken important legal and institutional changes over the past decade to improve the governance and performance of its state-owned enterprises (SOEs), yet significant implementation shortcomings persist. This review describes and assesses the corporate governance framework of the Romanian SOE sector against the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises. It also makes recommendations to help the Romanian authorities design adequate mechanisms to ensure the implementation of applicable rules for the exercise of state ownership and the governance of SOEs.

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) remain vulnerable to being used as conduits for political finance, patronage, and personal or related-party enrichment. Lingering weaknesses in corporate governance and ownership arrangements can expose SOEs to such exploitation and undermine SOE efforts to uphold integrity. This report highlights these weaknesses and provides state owners with a better understanding of which activities are effective in insulating SOEs from undue influence. It also takes stock of how OECD member and participating countries are implementing relevant provisions of the OECD Guidelines on Anti-Corruption and Integrity in SOEs, serving as the first report on the implementation of the Guidelines since their adoption in 2019.

This report serves to support the development of Latin America’s legal and regulatory frameworks for sustainability disclosure, the responsibilities of company boards and shareholder rights. The report presents the results of two OECD surveys on sustainability practices of listed companies and asset managers in the region. It also draws upon an OECD dataset on the current trends and features of corporate sustainability at the global level.

Traverser la crise du COVID-19 et préparer l’avenir : La reprise dans la région MENA considère les impacts de la crise du COVID-19 sur les pays de la région MENA ainsi que les changements potentiels qu'elle peut apporter à leurs programmes de réforme. Le rapport aborde non seulement les effets actuels de la crise, mais également ses conséquences à long terme, tout en identifiant les tendances émergentes. L'analyse a été achevée peu avant le début de la guerre en Ukraine, alors que les signes d’une reprise chancelante étaient déjà observés dans l'ensemble de l'économie mondiale. Depuis lors, les perspectives de croissance mondiale ont encore été affectées par le conflit en Ukraine. Pour autant, les recommandations politiques visant à renforcer la résilience à long terme des pays de la région MENA n'ont pas changé. Au contraire, elles sont d'autant plus pertinentes que la plupart des défis à venir proviennent de facteurs structurels, sachant toutefois que la mise en place de stratégies réalistes dépend des marges de manœuvres budgétaires.

The Government of Viet Nam has made progress in recent years to improve its frameworks for the ownership and corporate governance of its state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This review assesses the corporate governance framework of the Viet Nam state-owned sector relative to the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-owned Enterprises (SOE Guidelines). It then puts forward recommendations to help the Vietnamese authorities address remaining challenges and further professionalise the state ownership function.

This report provides a detailed account of the Swedish corporate bond market. Based on original data, it offers an overview of how the market has developed in the past two decades with respect to, among other things, size, issuer characteristics, risk profile and liquidity. In particular, it documents how the market has changed since the 2008 financial crisis and explores the increasingly important role of real estate companies in the local bond market. It also offers a comparison of the Swedish market with selected peer countries (European and non-European), both in terms of market structure and relevant regulation.

This guidance sets out elements of credible corporate climate transition plans, which aim to align with the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. Such plans are needed to address the growing risk of greenwashing in transition finance and facilitate a global, whole-of-economy climate transition. Based on extensive stakeholder consultations, including an industry survey, the guidance provides market actors, policy makers, and regulators with a comprehensive overview of existing transition finance approaches, identifying the main challenges and solutions. The guidance is relevant to: (i) policy-makers and regulators seeking to develop or revise relevant policy frameworks or regulations; (ii) corporates developing transition plans and seeking to identify the most salient elements of existing initiatives; and (iii) financial market participants planning to provide finance for the implementation of net-zero strategies. The guidance emphasises greater transparency, comparability and granularity in corporate transition plans, and the need for adequate environmental and social safeguards. In light of challenges for some corporates, especially in emerging markets and developing economies, and the risk of excluding key actors from transition finance, the guidance highlights the need for policy-makers to take stronger action to bolster domestic enabling environments for transformative investments.