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Corporate governance principles

Corporate Governance in the Middle East and North Africa

 

Annual meeting of the MENA-OECD Working Group on Corporate Governance

21 October 2020
9am CET

This virtual edition of the Working Group supported corporate governance solutions for mature capital markets and an institutional environment for more and better investment. The meeting assessed progress as well as challenges to implementing the policy options agreed in the 2019 Working Group report, especially in light of the Covid-19 crisis. The discussion assessed implementation of reforms using the prism of the policy options identified in the Working Group report. Ultimately the outcomes of the discussions will steer the future work programme, 2021-25. Topics discussed included:

  • Recent corporate governance developments in the MENA Region, including the impact of Covid-19
  • Progress and challenges implementing strategies to improve access to capital
  • Taking action for greater transparency and disclosure: achievements and impediments
  • Progress and obstacles to bringing gender balance in corporate leadership
  • Implementing change to boost the governance of state-owned enterprises: progress and hurdles
  • Next steps: key policy areas for future work

About the Working Group

First established in 2005, the top priority of the MENA-OECD Working Group on Corporate Governance is to build a regional knowledge platform on corporate governance that promotes equity market development for growth companies, enhances transparency and disclosure, improves the corporate governance of state-owned enterprises and supports women’s participation in corporate leadership in the Middle East and North Africa. Supporting implementation of international standards embodied in the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises, participants in the Working Group share experiences that are adapted to the region’s policy reform priorities. These discussions benefit from comparative analytical work that supports reforms at national and regional levels. This approach promotes regional co-operation and mutual understanding amongst international and regional public institutions as well as the private sector.


The Initiative’s strategic orientations and policy priorities for the period 2016-2020 were endorsed at the 2016 MENA-OECD Ministerial Conference, where Ministers and senior government officials endorsed the Tunis Declaration. This has opened a new phase for the MENA-OECD Working Group on Corporate Governance.


The Working Group brings together representatives of relevant government ministries and agencies, stock exchanges, investors, state ownership entities and corporate practitioners in the MENA region as well as their peers from around the world.


Publications and Key Documents

 

MENA Corporate Gov framework 2019 cover-en

Corporate Governance in the MENA: Building a Framework for Competitiveness and Growth (2019)

This report assesses the corporate governance landscape in the MENA region by identifying challenges and proposing policy options for reform. The findings of the report are based on an analysis of policies and practices in four thematic areas: boosting access to finance and capital markets, improving transparency and disclosure, achieving gender balance in corporate leadership and enhancing the governance of state-owned enterprises in MENA. 


Related Activities


Related OECD tools


Events

OECD / AUB / Hawkamah Webinar on Transparency and Disclosure in the Times of COVID-19, 3 June 2020
MENA-OECD Working Group on Corporate Governance Meeting, 17-18 April 2019, Paris Summary Note | الرسائل الرئيسة-
MENA-OECD Working Group on Corporate Governance Meeting, 4-5 July 2018, Portugal
MENA-OECD Working Group on Corporate Governance Meeting, 12-13 December 2017, Morocco
OECD Workshop on Corporate Governance of SOEs in the MENA Region, 24 May 2017, United Arab Emirates
MENA-OECD Ministerial Conference, 3-4 October 2016, Tunisia

Past events and work


Contact us

For further information, please contact: Marie-Estelle Rey, Senior Policy Analyst (Marie-Estelle.Rey@oecd.org).

 

Related Documents