Corporate governance has become an increasingly popular topic in Kazakhstan; local companies are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and internationally-minded and more companies are realizing that their corporate governance needs to be improved in order to remain competitive and to attract investment. Some companies have listed their shares in London and have had Eurobond issuances, thus showing that Kazakhstan is entering into the minds of the international business community.
The need for improved corporate governance has also been noticed at the highest levels of power in Kazakhstan. In February 2007, President Nursultan Nazarbayev issued a decree ordering state bodies to develop corporate governance principles and to improve corporate governance at state-owned holding companies. One of the main reasons for this decree was to preserve and enhance the value of the country’s shareholdings. Prime Minister Karim Massimov also participated in a corporate governance awareness conference in February 2007 in the Kazakhstani capital, Astana, thereby greatly raising the profile of the topic through the accompanying press coverage. Full Senate hearings on the competitiveness of the economy here held in spring 2007, and included invited experts on corporate governance. The Kazakhstan team of the Central Asia Corporate Governance Project has also partnered with the Kazakhstan Supreme Court, conducting joint training and informative roundtables on corporate governance topics.
A Corporate Governance Working Group, established under auspices of the Association of Financial Institutions of Kazakhstan is working to update a model corporate governance code for the Council of Issuers of Kazakhstan. The original model code was adopted by the Council of Issuers in 2005 and provides an important tool for listed companies, which under legislation, must each adopt corporate governance codes. The Project has been taking an active role in the development of code enhancements, along with detailed supporting annotations.
In 2007, corporate governance has also continued to crop up as session topics in conferences in Kazakhstan initiated by local interest. These recent events include the VIII Almaty Interbanking Conference in October organized by BankTuranAlem, November’s III International Corporate Governance Conference and the first Summit of Independent Directors. The Project took an active role in all of these corporate governance-related events.
In 2008, our work continues in the areas of company assistance, legislative reform initiatives, media training and educational curricula development. Our company pilot program has commenced, through which selected companies will undergo a detailed corporate governance assessment and the Project will assist with the implementation of suggested recommendations.
For the attention of Kazakhstani banks and companies!
IFC is pleased to announce the continuation of application submission process for its Pilot Program
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