Publication: Corporate Governance Country Assessment : Slovenia
Loading...
Published
2004-05
ISSN
Date
2013-07-23
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This report provides an assessment of the corporate governance policy framework, and enforcement and compliance practices in Slovenia. The country has already upgraded its legislation to meet European Union (EU) Directives, and, its legal and regulatory framework dealing with corporate governance issues is now comparable to that of many EU member states. Strengths and weaknesses are highlighted, and policy recommendations are made where appropriate. The major issues are driven by the continuing transformation of Slovenian companies. Ownership of smaller companies and some blue chips will likely continue to consolidate, as strategic investors, and holding companies acquire control and 100 percent ownership; investor protection in these companies will require the diligent enforcement of takeover rules. For the remaining listed companies and others that will continue to have relatively dispersed ownership, related party transaction protection, and improved periodic disclosure are important. The report recommends that policymakers: 1) require a formal approval and disclosure process for related party transactions; 2) consider methods to increase minority representation on boards; 3) require the disclosure of shareholder agreements; 4) require that the SMA review the content of public company disclosure; 5) require an audit committee of the supervisory board for listed companies; and, 6) continue to support supervisory board training activities. The report also proposes that institutional investors (including State-owned funds) develop public voting, and board representation policies that require board members to act in the best interest of the company (and thus all shareholders and stakeholders).
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2004. Corporate Governance Country Assessment : Slovenia. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14476 License: CC BY 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 Hungary : Corporate Governance Country Assessment(Washington, DC, 2003-02)This report assesses the corporate governance policy framework and enforcement and compliance practices in Hungary. Hungary has already invested considerable resources in upgrading its legislation to meet European Union Directives, and the legislative and regulatory framework dealing with corporate governance issues is robust. The major issues identified by this review include: (1) the general weakness of the supervisory board, which causes some non-compliance with several OECD Principles; and (2) a conflict between law and practice in the area of share registration, particularly the problems related to the ability of all shareholders to attend meetings and exercise their voting and other rights. Strengths and weaknesses are highlighted, and the policy recommendations made may be grouped under three categories: legislative reform, institutional strengthening, and voluntary/private initiatives. The report recommends creating a "share registration working group" to synchronize law and practice in the area of shareholder record keeping and voting. It also makes recommendations to be implemented as part of a Company Law update. Finally, the report promotes private sector initiatives and capacity building to build on legislative progress on corporate governance reform. It recommends developing a Hungarian corporate governance code of best practice, which would address key issues to include supervisory board roles and institutional investor responsibilities. The report also proposes that an Institute of Directors be created train supervisory board members, disseminate best practice, and promote dialogue between the public and private sectors. Together, these measures give issuers the choice to implement best practice and investors a benchmark against which to measure corporate governance in Hungary.Publication Corporate Governance Country Assessment : Vietnam(Washington, DC, 2013-08)This report assesses Vietnam's corporate governance policy framework. It highlights recent improvements in corporate governance regulation, makes policy recommendations, and provides investors with a benchmark against which to measure corporate governance in Vietnam. It is an update of the 2006 Corporate Governance ROSC for Vietnam. Good corporate governance enhances investor trust, protects minority shareholders, and encourages better decision making and improved relations with workers, creditors, and other stakeholders. Better investor protection can lower the cost of capital and encourage companies to list and raise funds through equity markets. Good corporate governance also helps to ensure that these companies operate more transparently and efficiently. Vietnam has undertaken important corporate governance reforms in recent years. However protecting minority shareholders, fully tapping the potential of capital markets, and professionalizing boards and management will require that reform continues. Key reforms include: Developing an action plan to address core failings of state owned enterprise corporate governance, including replacing the current state economic groups, or SEG oriented system with one that has more accountable state ownership; and Increasing transparency with greater auditor independence, better disclosure of ownership and control, and convergence of accounting standards with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS.Publication Corporate Governance Country Assessment : Republic of Latvia(Washington, DC, 2002-12)This report provides an assessment of the corporate governance policy framework and enforcement and compliance practices in Latvia. Latvia has already invested considerable resources in upgrading its legislation to meet EU Directives, and the legislative and regulatory framework dealing with corporate governance issues is quite robust. Strengths and weaknesses are highlighted and policy recommendations made where appropriate. This report promotes private sector initiatives and capacity building to follow up on the legislative progress on corporate governance reform. It recommends the development of a Latvian or regional voluntary code of best practice of corporate governance.Publication Corporate Governance Country Assessment : Czech Republic(Washington, DC, 2002-07)The Czech securities markets are rapidly evolving under political and commercial pressures. However, shortcomings remain that undercut their role in price discovery, and limit their value as risk diversification, as a source of finance and a mechanism for good corporate governance. Ownership concentration resulting from privatization in the early 1990s was accompanied by opaque deals and price manipulation, and owners often exploited control and acted against the interests of enterprises, creditors and minority shareholders. The policy recommendations may be grouped into three broad categories: legislative reform, institutional strengthening, and voluntary/private initiatives. In 2001, the Czech Republic instituted broad financial regulatory reforms. However, related party transactions, insolvency and more technical issues, such as voting by mail and shareholder meetings, still require more attention. Institutional strengthening is also vital to improve enforcement. The judiciary, Securities Commission, and other institutions that oversee financial market participants should be strengthened. Finally, in the area of voluntary/private initiatives, this report recommends enhanced training opportunities for Czech directors.Publication Corporate Governance Country Assessment : Slovak Republic(Washington, DC, 2003-10)This report provides an assessment of the corporate governance policy framework, and enforcement and compliance practices in the Slovak Republic. Slovakia has already upgraded its legislation to meet European Union (EU) Directives. The legislative and regulatory framework dealing with corporate governance issues has improved. The major issues identified by this review include: 1) the general weakness of the supervisory board, which causes some non-compliance with several of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - OECD - Principles; 2) lack of protection for shareholders of "Free Market" companies, and, 3) inadequate authority and institutional capacity at the Financial Market Authority (FMA). Strengths and weaknesses are highlighted and policy recommendations made where appropriate. The report proposes that an Institute of Directors be created to train supervisory board members, disseminate best practice, and promote dialogue between the public and private sectors. Together, the recommendations give issuers the choice to implement best practice, and for investors a benchmark against which to measure corporate governance in Slovakia.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, Spring 2025: Accelerating Growth through Entrepreneurship, Technology Adoption, and Innovation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-23)Business dynamism and economic growth in Europe and Central Asia have weakened since the late 2000s, with productivity growth driven largely by resource reallocation between firms and sectors rather than innovation. To move up the value chain, countries need to facilitate technology adoption, stronger domestic competition, and firm-level innovation to build a more dynamic private sector. Governments should move beyond broad support for small- and medium-sized enterprises and focus on enabling the most productive firms to expand and compete globally. Strengthening competition policies, reducing the presence of state-owned enterprises, and ensuring fair market access are crucial. Limited availability of long-term financing and risk capital hinders firm growth and innovation. Economic disruptions are a shock in the short term, but they provide an opportunity for implementing enterprise and structural reforms, all of which are essential for creating better-paying jobs and helping countries in the region to achieve high-income status.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.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 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 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.