IFC helps promote good corporate governance in Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) - The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World
Bank, launched in Hanoi on Oct. 24 a programme to improve corporate
governance practices in Vietnam 's private sector to help it increase its
competitive capacity and grow solidly and sustainably.

IFC will partner with key government agencies, including the State
Securities Commission, the State Bank of Vietnam and the Central
Institute for Economic Management, to review and improve existing policies,
laws and regulations relating to corporate governance, making them more
suitable to the current situation.

It will also work with companies to apply good governance standards while
assisting banks and investment institutions, including the State Capital
Investment Corporation, in evaluating their member affiliates' corporate
governance practices to reduce portfolio risk.

Within the framework of the programme, a nationwide campaign will be
launched to educate the general public on the value of good corporate
governance and raise their awareness of the rights and responsibilities of
shareholders and management.

The campaign will also include training journalists on corporate governance
issues and working with educational institutions to develop courses that
provide future business leaders with requisite knowledge and skills.

Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO, said his organisation
was pleased to work with Vietnamese government partners to help improve
corporate governance practices in Vietnamese companies and contribute to
enhancing value and long-term prosperity of companies and the national
economy as well.

Underlining that weaknesses in corporate governance are hindering the nation's
growth rate and companies' competitiveness, representatives of the State
Securities Commission and the Central Institute for Economic Management
agreed that improving and enhancing corporate governance is urgent and
should be given priority for prompt implementation.

The Vietnam Corporate Governance programme has been implemented with funding
from MPDF, a private sector development initiative in Cambodia , Laos ,
and Vietnam , managed by IFC, and donations from Australia , Canada , the
EU, Finland , Ireland , Japan , New Zealand , the Netherlands , Norway
, Sweden and Switzerland .

At the launch ceremony, representatives from IFC and the State Securities
Commission signed a memorandum of understanding on their cooperation in
overseeing and revising corporate governance regulations applied on
companies listed on bourses and public companies, and in training corporate
governance skills for business leaders.-Enditem