Corporate Governance

The goal of IFC Advisory Services' Corporate Governance program is to help build sustainable businesses in the Middle East and North Africa region through improved corporate governance. This goal is supported by the following five objectives:

• Building the business case for corporate governance among banks and companies
• Helping investors improve the corporate governance practices of their investee companies
• Supporting the development of an effective corporate governance regulatory framework
• Building sustainable institutional capacity for corporate governance advisory services
• Strengthening the role of the financial media to ensure coverage of corporate governance issues

IFC staff is currently providing advice to private and public sector clients through region-wide and country-specific projects in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and West Bank and Gaza.




What Does the Program Offer?

• For banks and companies: corporate governance assessments and reviews, consultations and board-level workshops
• For investors: corporate governance assessment matrices and methodology; corporate governance workshops for credit officers and investment staff and nominee directors
• For the public sector: policy advice on countries’ legal and regulatory frameworks and assistance with the launch of corporate governance country codes
• For educational and corporate governance institutions: capacity building through the development of director training programs, manuals and best practice guidance, as well as advisory services on corporate governance

Expected Outcomes and Impact

The program intends to:

• Help banks and companies improve their access to affordable external financing—leading to greater investment, higher growth and more employment creation
• Assist banks and companies to lower their cost of capital—making investments more attractive to investors, and leading to growth and employment opportunities
• Achieve greater operational and financial performance through improved strategic decision-making and managerial oversight—leading to more efficient management and better asset allocation
• Build or restore relationships with key stakeholders, including investors, regulators and employees—leading to less conflict, improving compliance and, ultimately, building confidence and trust

Key Achievements

From the inception of IFC Advisory Services to the end of fiscal year 2007, the program has been successful at:

• Organizing 111 training events for over 3,800 directors and senior officers representing about 1,700 companies. Moreover, the program has carried-out nine corporate governance assessments or reviews

• Conducting 15 training events and providing seven consultations to three of the region’s leading investors, thus building the business case for these to incorporate corporate governance into their investment decision-making processes

• Supporting the development of an effective corporate governance regulatory framework. More specifically, the program has conducted nine high-level policy events, including with the Global Corporate Governance Forum and OECD; and advised and/or supported ten countries to launch 14 new and amend three existing corporate governance codes or regulations, of which eight have been passed

• Creating sustainable capacity for corporate governance in the MENA region. Of particular note is that the program has helped launch three institutes of directors, each of which has initiated an internationally certified director training program. The programs have trained 97 directors (28 directors have received the formal designation of a “certified director” by the Institutional Shareholder Services)

• Conducting three workshops for 63 journalists in support of improved reporting on corporate governance issues, and registering over 54 media appearances

Examples of Projects


In Egypt, Lebanon, and Pakistan, IFC Advisory Services has launched comprehensive corporate governance reform projects that seek to effectuate broad changes to a country’s corporate governance frameworks and actual practices in a sustainable manner. For instance, such projects focus on building the business case for good corporate governance through awareness raising events; working with companies to improve their corporate governance practices; launching corporate governance codes: conducting surveys on good corporate governance; and building corporate governance institutes, such as the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance, the Egyptian Institute of Directors, and Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance.

IFC also engages with countries in response to targeted corporate governance interventions. For example, in the UAE and Jordan, IFC Advisory Services is supporting both central banks to develop corporate governance codes.

IFC works with individual client companies to help improve their corporate governance practices. For example, IFC has worked with Bank Audi in Lebanon and Dana Gas in the UAE to implement corporate governance best practices. IFC’s approach is to:

• Conduct an assessment of the client’s corporate governance framework, policies and practices
• Draft a set of practical and action-orientated recommendations, prioritized according to importance
• Develop an agreed-upon action plan
  

Links to Program Materials and Courses

For additional information contact:

Martin Steindl
Corporate Governance Program Manager
E-mail: msteindl@ifc.org