On February 23, 2016 at the Scientific-Educational Center of Corporate Governance, the International Conference dedicated to adoption of the Corporate Governance Code arranged by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, State Competition Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Scientific-Educational Center of Corporate Governance.
The main aims of the Conference were explanation and discussion over:
modern trends in improving the corporate governance system in the Republic of Uzbekistan and abroad;
the key guidelines and provisions of the Corporate Governance Code, aimed at improving the effective management of the joint-stock companies with achieving the balance of interests of the management bodies, shareholders and the employees of the company;
tasks and practical recommendations on accelerating the implementation of the international standards and norms in at sphere of corporate governance into activities of the joint-stock companies.
The event was attended by over 100 participants, including representatives of the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, International Finance Corporation, the United Nations Development Programme, the diplomatic corps in Uzbekistan, international experts of the European School of Management and Technology and “Indekon Consulting” company (Germany) as well as the heads of joint-stock companies and joint ventures.
In course of the Conference the open dialogue with representatives of the business circles and discussions over implementation practices of the adopted laws and Decrees of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, topical problems and issues related to improvement of the joint-stock companies’ management system aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the joint-stock companies, ensuring reliable legal protection of the shareholders, were arranged.
At the plenary session the representatives of the European School of Management and Technology and “Indekon Consulting” company (Germany), heads of the ministries and institutions, as well as the joint ventures made their speeches and reports.
The speakers stressed that based on the thorough analysis of the ongoing processes taking place in the global economy, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov elaborated and adopted the important decisions on further implementation of the radical reforms aimed at providing the steady economic growth as well as creation of a solid economic foundation for the future development of the country.
One of the important areas of the Program on reforming, structural transformation and diversification of the economy during the years 2015-2019 is being the Decree by President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated April 24, 2015 № UP-4720 “On measures aimed at introduction of the modern methods of corporate governance in the joint-stock companies”, by which the basic guidelines on improving the corporate governance system and strengthening the protection of the shareholders’ rights were defined.
It should be noted, pursuant to the Decree, the Commission for Enhancement of Efficiency of the Joint-Stock Companies’ Activity and Improvement of the Corporate Governance System has approved the Corporate Governance Code, which foresees introduction of the advanced corporate governance methods, including:
defining the development strategy and goals for the long term, the internal control system and mechanisms for effective interaction of the executive body with shareholders and investors;
introduction of the standard organizational structure with taking into account of the scales, industry specifics and the scope of activities performed by the joint-stock companies;
rise of transparency in the joint-stock companies’ activity, publication of information by them based on international auditing and financial reporting standards.
The Conference participants noted that Uzbekistan is actively working over the radical change in the principles and approaches to the corporate governance, introduction of the advanced international standards of corporate management related to production, foreign trade and investment processes, formation of new corporate entities to replace the old, outdated management practices.
Special attention is being paid to the wide attraction of foreign investors and managers into the joint-stock companies, creation of favorable conditions for their active participation in corporate governance, modernization, technical and technological re-equipment of production processes, arrangement of output of the high-quality, competitive products and their promotion into the external markets, as well as the radical reduction of the State’s presence in the economy at cost of decrease in the state-owned assets and shares at the Charter capital of the joint-stock companies.
Thus, in accordance with the Decree by President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated December 21, 2015 No PP-2454 “On the Additional Measures Aimed at Attraction of the Foreign Investments into the Joint-Stock Companies” the order was introduced in compliance with which the share of the foreign investors at the joint-stock companies’ Charter capital shall constitute not less than 15 percent.
The Conference participants heard and discussed the reports and speeches made in course the Conference, noted the following basic guidelines and recommendations for improvement of the corporate governance system:
to accept the recommendations of the Corporate Governance Code for the purpose of achieving the balance of interests of the public authorities, the shareholders and the workforce of the company;
to define as the strategic goals of the joint-stock companies maintenance of financial stability, increase in labor productivity, growth in production and export performance indicators, achievement of energy efficiency, implementation of modernization, technical and technological renovation of production processes, leading to increase in the shares’ value;
to implement the effective internal control mechanisms, inclusion of independent persons into membership of the Supervisory Board, performance of analysis on conformity of the business processes and projects to the goals of the company’s development, establishing as one of the priority objectives, the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of all shareholders, including the minority ones;
to elaborate the Provisions on the order of steps to be undertaken at the occurrence of a conflict of interests for prevention and settlement of the disputes arising from occurrence of a conflict of interests;
to create by the Supervisory Board of the joint-stock companies, the committees for identifying and resolving the conflict situations with membership of the governing bodies, joint-stock company personnel representatives and involved outside experts in them;
to implement measures aimed at transition of the company to publishing the information based on international auditing and financial reporting standards;
to elaborate and get approved the Regulations on information policy with the aim to provide transparency of the company’s activities;
to apply widely the management techniques, successfully proven in the international practice, including SWOT, the GAP analysis and other approaches and the special software;
to improve the skills of the joint-stock company officials through their participation in training courses, seminars and others.
Participants of the International Conference concurred that the elaborated Corporate Governance Code summarizes the best international corporate governance practices those having been adapted for use in the joint-stock companies of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Conference held will, in the whole, enhance the level of knowledge and skills in the field of the corporate governance.
Press Service
of the State Competition Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan
