Publication: Corporate Governance Success Stories
Loading...
Published
2015-06
ISSN
Date
2016-08-03
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This report summarizes the experiences of 19 companies from across the region. Each of the case studies highlights the key corporate governance changes made and the positive impacts that resulted, as reported by the company. The companies represent various countries, sectors, types, and sizes. All of the companies featured are former IFC Advisory Services clients. Some are IFC Investment clients as well. IFC conducted an in-depth corporate governance assessment for each of these companies using IFC’s Corporate Governance Methodology. The assessments resulted in specific recommendations on ways to improve each company’s governance framework and identified implementation plans. The assessments were conducted at various points over the past few years. The time taken to implement changes and realize benefits varied. However, all companies reported that governance changes are continuous and the corresponding benefits manifest themselves in different forms over time. This report provides examples of companies in various stages of change – from recent changes (e.g., Medgulf) to ongoing, longer-term changes (e.g., Bank Audi). This report also includes testimony from three MENA private equity firms (all IFC investment clients). Collectively, these firms have worked with 72 investee companies (past and present funds). Selected based on their association with IFC and their willingness to share their insight and experiences, these firms offer a valuable window into the importance of corporate governance from an investor’s perspective. The material in this report is based on feedback gathered through individual interviews with each organization featured, resulting in well-considered responses. The achievements highlighted are all the more notable given that the interviews and information gathering process took place in in late 2009 (first edition) and 2013 (for current edition), when the region was still under the stress of the crisis.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“International Finance Corporation. 2015. Corporate Governance Success Stories. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24790 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication West Bank and Gaza : Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes - Accounting and Auditing(World Bank, 2010-07-01)This Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes for Accounting and Auditing (ROSC A&A) is a part of the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) joint initiative to review countries use of 12 internationally recognized standards/codes related to economic stability and private and financial sector development, including evaluating the country's accounting and auditing practices based on internationally recognized benchmarks and, based on that review, to make policy recommendations to help it bridge the gaps between current practices and those considered adequate. ROSC policy recommendations are intended to help strengthen a country's financial architecture, attract more foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment, and mobilize domestic savings, which, in turn, would allow for pension savings. In addition, improved financial reporting allows investors to better evaluate corporate prospects and make informed investment and voting decisions, which results in a lower cost of capital and a better allocation of capital and resources. Financial reporting is also the bedrock of corporate governance, allowing shareholders and the public at large to monitor management's performance. The formal financial sector in World Bank and Group (WB&G) emerged after the signing of the Oslo accord in 1993 and the Paris protocol in 1994. The Paris protocol provided Palestinians the authority to administer monetary and financial affairs in order to support expected economic growth. Those expectations were never fully realized because of ongoing tension among stakeholders, political instability and restrictions on the mobility of persons and goods.Publication Financial Sector Assessment Program : Malaysia - Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-02)Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) employs a very well developed risk-focused regulatory and supervisory regime, consisting of a hands-on and comprehensive program of onsite supervision and extensive off-site macro, and micro, surveillance that is well integrated with its on-site supervision. This assessment of the current state of compliance with the Basel Core Principles (BCPs) in Malaysia has been undertaken as part of a joint International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) mission. The assessment was conducted from 4 April till 20 April 2012. It reflects the banking supervision practices of the BNM as of the end of March 2012 for the supervision of commercial banks. The assessment is based on several sources: (i) a detailed and comprehensive self-assessment prepared by the BNM ; (ii) detailed interviews with the BNM staff; (iii) review of laws, regulations, and other documentation on the supervisory framework and on the structure and development of the Malaysia financial sector; and (iv) meetings with individual banks, the banking association and an external auditor.Publication Moldova Financial Sector Assessment Program(Washington, DC, 2014-09)The banking sector in Moldova is in the midst of structural changes with worrisome corporate governance issues at the core. Corporate governance is at the center of a stable and profitable banking sector which is essential to support economic growth and productivity. However, the banking system in Moldova suffers from critical governance weaknesses which the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) has been unable to effectively address. The illicit schemes used to gain control of the majority of the banking sector’s assets have involved raider attacks by unidentified individuals whose subsequent, de facto, related party transactions have caused the deterioration of bank balance sheets. The recent changes in controlling ownership have resulted in nontransparent appointments of board members and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). This has led to substantial blurring of the roles and responsibilities of ownership, oversight (board), and management, resulting in no clear accountability. The legal and institutional corporate governance framework in Moldova is weak. Sound corporate governance is first and foremost dependent upon the motivations of owners and the resultant business culture they instill through their selection and appointment of board members. In Moldova, a few actors control the majority of the banking system. They demonstrate dubious motives by acting obscurely through others and through companies to own and control important banks. These actions create a system that is held captive to serve the needs and pleasures of a few at the expense of many: the depositors, general public, and ultimately, the taxpayer.Publication Republic of Croatia : Financial Sector Assessment Update(Washington, DC, 2008-07)This Financial Sector Assessment (FSA) summarizes the structural and developmental aspects of the 2007 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) update report for the Republic of Croatia. An in-depth elaboration on the stability and prudential oversight aspects of the FSAP Update, including factual updates of core principles and Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs), are summarized in the Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA) that was discussed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board as part of the Article IV consultation, in May 2008. This FSA should be read together with the Fund's FSSA in order to obtain a full sense of the findings and recommendations of the 2007 Croatia FSAP Update. The main conclusion of the FSAP update is that, although substantial improvements in regulation, supervision and institutional capacity are observed, challenges remain given the rapidly growing credit and securities market sectors.Publication MIGA Annual Report 2010, Volume 2(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2010)The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency's (MIGA's) mandate to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries to improve people's lives and create more opportunities remains more important than ever. Despite a challenging business climate, during the past year MIGA sought out and supported projects that contributed to its mission and growth. In fiscal year 2010, MIGA provided $1.5 billion in new guarantee coverage. This amount targeted a wide range of projects across all regions from bank liquidity in Serbia and Latvia to guarantees on complex port projects in Turkey, China, and Senegal. Over the past year MIGA supported investments in frontier markets, such as Sierra Leone and Ethiopia. And as was the case last year, MIGA experienced a lower-than-usual level of cancellation. MIGA also continued to support financial flows from banks to their subsidiaries in Europe and Central Asia that were harmed by the financial crisis. Beyond the financial sector, MIGA supported clients seeking political risk insurance for energy and infrastructure investments with a strong development impact. The projects that MIGA supports create jobs; provide water, electricity, and other basic services; strengthen financial systems; generate tax revenues; transfer skills and technological know-how; and help countries tap natural resources in an environmentally sustainable way. MIGA again demonstrated thought leadership in the political risk insurance arena. The report fills an information gap and underlines that investors view political risk as the most important short- and medium-term obstacle to investing in developing countries. MIGA's management continues to focus on change to increase effectiveness and improve efficiency for investors and lenders. MIGA has also worked more closely with other units of the World Bank Group to ensure the best use of the Bank Group's expertise, products, and services.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.