|
Activities
The logical sequence and the content of
activities under the CGI are designed as preparation (evaluation)
and follow up (advocacy and dissemination) of two major elements of
the project - Corporate Governance Assessment Report and Corporate
Governance Guidelines for Bulgaria. The Initiative acquired broader
regional character with the preparation and holding the Regional
Corporate Governance Forum. In greater detail the activities
grouped in four components include:
Corporate Governance Assessment Report
Corporate Governance Assessment Report will
review the status quo of corporate governance and evaluate the
impact of CGI activities in 1999. The CGAR will be produced and
published annually aiming at evaluating corporate governance reform
progress in Bulgaria. This would both contribute to improvement
measures and keep the public and professional debate focused on the
issued of corporate governance.
The Corporate Governance Assessment Report
(CGAR) will analyze the development in the following problem areas:
Board Structure; Voting Rights; Disclosure and Transparency. CGI
proposes to design a system of indicators that will measure
corporate governance developments in Bulgaria and allow for
international comparisons across transition economies. Within the
project a pilot monitoring will be carried out and its methodology
and preliminary results will be discussed with leading Bulgarian
and international experts. The CGAR will contribute to identifying
critical areas which will be elaborated further in Corporate
Governance Guidelines.
Corporate Governance Guidelines for Bulgaria
The document to be developed - Corporate
Governance Guidelines for Bulgaria - will be based on CGAR
and 1999 CGI Policy Recommendation
Paper but will further elaborate its most topical action
lines:
- Responsibilities and Motivation of Boards;
- Role of the Judiciary and Improvement of Judicial
Practice;
- Promotion of Capital Market Development and the Role of
Institutional Investors;
- Residual State Shareholding.
The main objective of the Guidelines is to
identify the specific roles of key players in the process of
implementing modern corporate governance principles (general public
and shareholders’ organizations, business community, media and the
legislative and government). Practically this will provide
framework for consensus building among the stakeholders for
measures that should be undertaken.
The preparation of the Guidelines document will
consist of three stages: preparation of draft Guidelines,
conducting a Policy Workshop, preparation of a final version of the
Guidelines.
The preparation of draft Guidelines will
involve members of CGI Task Force and experts from all concerned
institutions. A strong emphasis will be put on the participation of
business associations (Bulgarian
Industrial Association and Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry) and self-regulatory organizations (i.e. licensed
investment intermediaries, private pension funds, etc.)
The Policy Workshop will bring together
approx. 40 participants at the expert level (government agencies
representatives, investment industry experts, business associations
and self-regulatory organizations, international donors). It will
be the main public event at which the CGG will be presented to the
broader public.
The preparation of final version of the Guidelines will take
into account the workshop discussions and it will be widely
distributed by business associations involved in the
Initiative.
Regional Corporate Governance Forum
The Center for International Private Enterprise
and the Center for the Study of Democracy, with support from the
National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the East-East Program of
the Open Society Institute (OSI), held a regional conference
entitled "Business Views on Corporate Governance: Building New
Structures in Emerging Markets". The fourth in a series of
regional conferences focusing on reform issues, this conference was
aimed to craft a unique dynamic-in which the business community,
market participants and think tanks forge their own approach to
corporate governance.
Transparency, accountability, responsibility and
fairness are vital for crafting governance practices both in
business and government in emerging democracies. Effective
corporate governance allows owners and other stakeholders to be
secure in their rights in the company. They also foster investment
and growth. The topics discussed at the conference included:
- corporate governance as an antidote to corruption;
- corporate ownership patterns in emerging democracies;
- transparency of financial institutions and corporate
infrastructure;
- local policy implementation; and
- defining corporate governance strategies
Sessions were designed for participants to share
their experiences and views, and to highlight successful approaches
to policy, advocacy and implementation. Participants included
public officials, business leaders and international experts in the
field of corporate governance.
Agenda
Dissemination and Advocacy
As a result of the project a new section called
Regional Corporate Governance Forum will be added to the CGI
Internet site – www.csd.bg/cgi.
It will include a detailed information about the Forum in Varna
(list of participants, country presentations, regional overview,
final document, future projects). By launching the regional web
site CGI seeks to promote an active exchange of information in the
field of corporate governance among experts and policy institutes
in transition economies and facilitate the implementation of
research and advocacy projects. As a follow up of the Regional
forum a special Virtual Forum will be set up at www.csd.bg/cgi to continue the expert
discussion and to involve other interested parties not represented
at the Regional Forum.
A series of articles presenting the CGI activities and main
project outputs will be prepared and published in the specialized
daily and weekly newspapers with national distribution (Kapital, Cash, Pari, 24 chasa, Standart and Demokrazia).
An effort will be made to publicize examples of best practice in
the filed of corporate governance.
| Executive
Summary | Activities | Objectives | Institutional Structure | Background | Resources |
|
