Friday, December 18, 2009
Closure of East-West Management Institute’s Representative Office in Poland
Warsaw, Poland
East-West Management Institute (EWMI) will close its Representative Office in Poland on Friday, December 18, 2009. EWMI would like to take this opportunity to thank Polish colleagues and counterparts for their assistance and cooperation during the past years.
Upon completion of its ten-year mandate, the current phase of the PFS Program will end on December 31, 2009. USAID has issued a request for proposals for a follow-on project. More information will be posted here on the PFS Program website in due course.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
PFS Program’s 13th Regional Survey – Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in 11 CEE Countries
Today, the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program publishes its 13th semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries. PFS Program Interns Kamila Andrukiewicz (Poland), Aleksa Mihajlovic (Serbia), Irena Petkovska (Macedonia) and Anna Wolska (Poland) conducted the survey, under the supervision of PFS Program Director Geoffrey Mazullo, from August 1 through September 30, 2009.
Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia were surveyed for the 13th time; companies in Hungary and Poland were surveyed for the 12th time; and companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania were surveyed for the 11th time. Moreover, a seventh analysis of peer companies (the ten largest listed companies by market capitalization) in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as well as Ukraine allows for ongoing benchmarking with these emerging market peers.
PFS Program surveys analyze the annual reports and websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned 11 CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the semi-annual surveys of reporting on CSR represent a snapshot of this peer group’s CSR disclosure practices on a given day twice a year. Furthermore, by analyzing disclosures in both annual reports and websites, the surveys track the timing of the publication of the annual report and the related yet separate issue of periodic disclosure, namely, how blue-chip companies keep their websites data-rich and up-to-date. The surveys enable companies to benchmark their disclosure practices against peers on a national, industry and regional basis.
This survey analyzes companies’ disclosures in English (in the English-language annual report and on the English-language company website) during the time period August 1 – September 16, 2009 on the following three topics: corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. The record date for the disclosures is September 16, 2009.
On September 16, 2009 all ten companies surveyed in all CEE countries except Croatia, Romania and Slovenia have an English-language website. 96% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have a 2008 or 2007 English-language annual report online on the same record date.
In marked contrast to all 12 previous surveys, this edition of the survey documents increased disclosure in almost all areas analyzed. In 27 of the 30 categories surveyed, disclosure increased. In some categories, the increase was significant. Disclosure of information on shareholder rights increased in the annual report to 69%, from 47% in April 2009 and on company websites to 64%, from 51% in April 2009. Disclosure of information on environmental considerations in supply chain management increased in the annual report to 24%, from 19% in April 2009 and on company websites to 39%, from 30% in April 2009. In these and many other categories, new thresholds were attained. In three categories of social policy, disclosure in the annual report decreased.
45 of the 110 CEE companies surveyed (41%) issue a stand-alone English-language environmental, social and governance (ESG) report, compared with 41 companies (37%) in April 2009 and 28 companies (25%) in September 2008. This is the first time that the 40% threshold has been exceeded, and represents continuation of an ongoing trend during the past two years.
It also demonstrates that gap between best-practice in extra-financial reporting in CEE blue-chip companies is closing vis-à-vis peers in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC). In BRIC, 19 companies (47.5%) issue a stand-alone English-language ESG report in September 2009. The number is unchanged since April 2009, and represents a slight increase vis-à-vis 18 companies in September 2008. As a group, BRIC blue-chips generally outperform CEE peers; however, the gap continues to narrow and a few CEE countries approach the disclosure levels found in BRIC. One Ukrainian company issues a stand-alone English-language ESG report in September 2009.
Survey findings include the following:
- 97% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have an English-language website on the record date of September 16, 2009, compared with 95% in April 2009, 96% in September 2008, 96% in April 2008, 94.5 % in September 2007, 94% in April 2007, 94% in September 2006, 87% in April 2006, 89% in September 2005 and 82% in April 2005. In comparison, 100% of the BRIC companies surveyed and 60% of the Ukrainian companies surveyed have an English-language website.
- 96% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have either a 2008 or 2007 English-language annual report online on the record date of September 16, 2009 compared with 92% in April 2009, 94% in September 2008, 87% in April 2008, 81% in September 2007, 84% in April 2007, 71% in September 2006, % in April 2006 and % in September 2005. In comparison, 100% of companies in BRIC and 20% in Ukraine have a 2008 or 2007 English-language annual report available online.
- 79% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed disclose employee development/benefits policies in the (2008 or 2007) annual report available online on September 16, 2009. This is the highest percentage recorded since the first survey was conducted in August 2003 and the first time that the 75% threshold was exceeded.
- 77 of the 110 CEE companies surveyed (70%) disclose implementation of a corporate governance code in the (2008 or 2007) annual report available online as of September 16, 2009, compared with 57 companies (52%) in April 2009 and 60 companies (54.5%) in September 2008. This is the first time since the survey was first conducted that disclosure of information regarding compliance with a corporate governance code in the annual report available online reached the 70% threshold.
- 55% of the CEE companies surveyed disclose information on compliance with a corporate governance code on their website, compared with 41% in April 2009 and 42% in September 2008. This is the first time since the survey was first conducted that more than 50% of the CEE companies surveyed disclose information regarding compliance with a corporate governance code on their website.
- 53% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed report on environmental performance in the (2007 or 2008) annual report available online on September 16, 2009. This is the highest percentage recorded since the first survey was conducted in August 2003 and the first time that the 50% threshold was exceeded. The percentage was 43% in April 2009, 34.5% in September 2008, 30% in April 2008, 33% in September 2007, 14% in April 2007, 25% in September 2006, 18% in April 2006 and 22% in September 2005.
- 45 of the 110 CEE companies surveyed (41%) issue a stand-alone English-language environmental, social and governance (ESG) report, compared with 41 companies (37%) in April 2009 and 28 companies (25%) in September 2008. This is the first time that the 40% threshold has been exceeded, and represents continuation of an ongoing trend during the past two years.
Note: The survey consists of the following documents: a report of the survey findings presenting data aggregated by country; a database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in each of the 11 CEE countries; and a separate database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in BRIC and Ukraine.
A list of companies with stand-alone English-language ESG reports is an appendix to the survey and is published here as a separate document.
To download the survey, the databases and a separate list of companies that publish a stand-alone English-language ESG report, please click on the links below:
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
PFS Program’s 17th Regional Survey - Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Ten Largest Listed Companies in 11 CEE Countries
Today, the PFS Program publishes its 17th semi-annual regional survey: Investor Relations Online - Survey of Websites of the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. PFS Program Interns Piotr Liberski (Poland) and Irena Petkovska (Macedonia) as well as PFS Program Research Assistant Igor Solodovnik conducted the survey from July 1 through August 17, 2009.
In this edition of the survey, disclosure of detailed governance information increased in all categories surveyed, except in the local-language website category, where a slight decrease was recorded.
91% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online. This is the largest percentage recorded since the surveys began in 2001 and represents a slight increase vis-à-vis 84% in February 2009, 88% in August 2008 and 90% in February 2008. 68% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about management online; this is also the largest percentage recorded since the first survey, representing an increase vis-à-vis 61% in February 2009, 64% in August 2008 and 63% in February 2008. 89% of the companies surveyed provide a list of board members online, compared with 85% in February 2009, 91% in August 2008 and 87% in February 2008. 64% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about board members online; this is also a record high percentage, compared with 56% in February 2009, 61% in August 2008 and 52% in February 2008.
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Ten Largest Listed Companies in 11 CEE Countries analyzes the websites of the ten largest listed companies in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. For the seventh time, the survey also analyzes companies in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as well as Ukraine in order to compare the online disclosure practices of CEE listed companies with peers in other emerging markets.
The survey analyzes the English-language websites and annual reports of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this ‘blue-chip’ peer group. Although the market capitalization of companies changes over time, the semi-annual surveys represent a snapshot of disclosure practices of the blue-chip peer group on a given day twice a year. Since the definition of the survey universe has remained the same since the first survey, the surveys provide time-series data for CEE blue-chip companies and thus enable the identification of online disclosure trends as well as best practice within the peer group.
The survey provides current data as of August 17, 2009 and comparisons with the 16 previous surveys, conducted in February 2009, August 2008, February 2008, August 2007, February 2007, August 2006, February 2006, August 2005, February 2005, August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001.
The survey contains information compiled in the following groups and sub-groups:
- Current data on 110 companies in 11 CEE countries;
- Separate data on 80 companies in eight CEE countries that joined the European Union (EU) on May 1, 2004;
- Separate data on 30 companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania;
- Comparisons of the data from this current survey with data from the previous 16 conducted every August and February since August 2001; and
- Separate data on 40 companies in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as well as 10 companies in Ukraine.
Survey results include the following:
Websites: In eight of the 11 CEE countries surveyed, each of the ten largest listed companies has a local-language website. In Estonia and Slovakia, nine of the ten companies surveyed and in Czech Republic seven of the ten companies surveyed have a local-language website. The three listed companies in the Czech Republic that do not have a local-language website are “foreign” companies listed on the Prague Stock Exchange. Each of the ten companies surveyed in Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia has an English-language website. 90% of the companies surveyed in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia as well as 80% of the companies surveyed in Croatia have an English-language website.
Information on Management: As noted above, 91% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online. This is the largest percentage recorded since the surveys began in 2001 and represents a slight increase vis-à-vis 84% in February 2009, 88% in August 2008 and 90% in February 2008. 68% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about management online; this is also the largest percentage recorded since the first survey, representing an increase vis-à-vis 61% in February 2009, 64% in August 2008 and 63% in February 2008.
Information on Board Members: 89% of the companies surveyed provide a list of board members online, compared with 85% in February 2009, 91% in August 2008 and 87% in February 2008. 64% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about board members online; this also represents a record high percentage and a significant increase, compared with 56% in February 2009, 61% in August 2008 and 52% in February 2008.
Best Practice: Since 2004, the survey includes recommendations on the ideal corporate website and compares CEE companies with the parameters of this ideal. On August 17, 2009 64 of the 110 companies surveyed in CEE (58%) disclose information in all of the categories analyzed in the basic PFS Program survey: local-language website; English-language website; list of management; list of board members; additional information on management; and additional information on board members. These 64 companies were examined according to best practice parameters. (In February 2009 52 of the 110 companies surveyed (47%) disclosed the above-mentioned basic information, compared with 56 of the 110 companies surveyed (51%) in August 2008.) On August 17, 2009 29 of the 110 companies surveyed in CEE (26%) provide all of the “ideal” recommended information: Five companies provide information directly on their company website; and 24 companies provide information indirectly through an annual report available online.
Comparisons with BRIC and Ukraine: The largest listed companies in BRIC disclose more information in this survey than in the previous survey. In all categories surveyed, companies in BRIC outperform peers in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004. The largest gaps exist in providing additional information on management and on board members. However, in contrast, the most transparent of the largest listed companies in CEE slightly outperform their peers in BRIC in terms of providing detailed governance information online, either on the company website or in an annual report available online. Also, in several CEE markets the results are impressive. In August 2009 all ten companies surveyed in Poland provide information in each category surveyed; in February 2009 all ten companies surveyed in Hungary provided information in each category surveyed. These are the first such cases since the first survey was conducted in 2001.
- Each of the companies surveyed in BRIC (100%) has a local-language website. In the CEE-11 countries, 95% of the companies surveyed have a local-language website. (In eight of the 11 CEE countries surveyed, each of the 10 companies surveyed has a local- language website. In Estonia and Slovakia, nine of the ten companies surveyed have a local-language website. In the Czech Republic, seven of the ten companies surveyed have a local-language website.) In Ukraine, eight of the ten companies surveyed have a local-language website.
- Each of the companies surveyed in BRIC (100%) has an English website, compared with 95.5% in CEE-11, 99% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 50% in Ukraine.
- 97.5% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide a list of management online, compared with 91% in the CEE-11 and 94% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004. In Ukraine 20% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online.
- 90% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide additional information on management online, compared with 68% in the CEE-11, 76% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 10% in Ukraine.
- 100% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide a list of board members online, compared with 89% in the CEE, 92.5% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 20% in Ukraine.
- 95% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide additional information on board members online, compared with 64.5% in CEE-11, 74% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 10% in Ukraine.
To download the survey, a presentation of survey results and the company database, please click on the links below:
Monday, September 7, 2009 - Friday, September 11, 2009
20th Warsaw Actuarial Summer School
Warsaw, Poland
From September 7-11, 2009 the 20th Warsaw Actuarial Summer School took place in Warsaw, Poland. The WASS is a joint venture of the Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw and the Polish Society of Actuaries. This year’s WASS was the 20th edition of the Summer School, which since 2003 has focused on continuing education of actuaries who have already completed basic academic training in actuarial science. The program included two lectures: Dependence Modelling with Actuarial Applications and Understanding Accounting Standards and Regulatory Requirements for Insurance Companies - Actuaries on the Pole Position. The PFS Program financed the tuition of two actuaries from the Insurance Agency of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Friday, May 8, 2009
PFS Program’s 12th Regional Survey – Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in 11 CEE Countries
Today, the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program publishes its 12th semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries. PFS Program Intern Rafal Nagadowski (Poland) and PFS Program Research Assistant Igor Solodovnik conducted the survey from February 16 through April 15, 2009.
Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia were surveyed for the 12th time; companies in Hungary and Poland were surveyed for the 11th time; and companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania were surveyed for the tenth time. Moreover, a sixth analysis of peer companies (the ten largest listed companies by market capitalization) in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as well as Ukraine allows for ongoing benchmarking with these emerging market peers.
PFS Program surveys analyze the annual reports and websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned 11 CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the semi-annual surveys of reporting on CSR represent a snapshot of this peer group’s CSR disclosure practices on a given day twice a year. Furthermore, by analyzing disclosures in both annual reports and websites, the surveys track the timing of the publication of the annual report and the related yet separate issue of periodic disclosure, namely, how blue-chip companies keep their websites data-rich and up-to-date. The surveys enable companies to benchmark their disclosure practices against peers on a national, industry and regional basis.
This survey analyzes companies’ disclosures in English (in the English-language annual report and on the English-language company website) during the time period February 16 – April 15, 2009 on the following three topics: corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. The record date for the disclosures is April 15, 2009.
This edition of the survey documents a significant increase in the number of CEE blue chip companies issuing stand-alone English-language environmental, social and governance (ESG) reports; 41 companies now issue such a report, compared with 28 companies in September 2008. In marked contrast to all 11 of the previous surveys, disclosure of corporate governance information remained relatively stable whereas disclosure of environmental and social data increased, reflecting incremental increases in almost all countries. More companies provide information on supply chain management both in annual reports and on company websites, compared with the previous survey published in October 2008. Disclosure of information about compliance with labor standards, health and safety policy and listed employment policy also increased; here too the increase in disclosure in both annual reports and company websites was seen in companies in almost all countries.
In BRIC, 19 companies issued a stand-alone English-language ESG report in April 2009, compared with 17 in September 2008. In particular, there was more disclosure of information about compliance with a corporate governance code and employment policy. In other areas, disclosures remained roughly the same or decreased slightly. As a group, BRIC blue-chips generally outperform CEE peers; however, the gap continues to narrow and a few CEE countries approach the disclosure levels found in BRIC.
Survey findings include the following:
- 95% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have an English-language website on the record date of April 15, 2009, compared with 96% in September 2008, 96% in April 2008, 94.5 % in September 2007, 94% in April 2007, 94% in September 2006, 87% in April 2006, 89% in September 2005 and 82% in April 2005. In comparison, 100% of the BRIC companies surveyed and 90% of the Ukrainian companies surveyed have an English-language website.
- 92% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have either a 2008 or 2007 English-language annual report online on the record date of April 15, 2009 compared with 94% in September 2008, 93% in April 2008, 89% in September 2007, 85% in April 2007, 71% in September 2006, 78% in September 2005 and 65% in August 2004. In comparison, 100% of companies in BRIC and 30% in Ukraine have a 2008 or 2007 English-language annual report available online.
- 56% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed disclose information on employment policy in the annual report available online on April 15, 2009, compared with 27% in September 2008. 45% of the companies surveyed disclose this information on their website in April 2009; compared with 25% in September and April 2008.
- 55 of the 110 CEE companies surveyed (50%) disclose their health and safety policy in the (2007 or 2008) annual report available online on April 15, 2009, compared with 38 companies (35%) in September 2008. 41 of the companies surveyed (37.2%) disclose this information on the company website in April 2009, compared with 36% in September 2008.
- 45% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed disclose the information about labor standards in the annual report available online on April 15, 2009. This is a significant improvement compared with 19% in September 2008, 11% in April 2008, 9% in September 2007, 15% in April 2007 and 14% in September 2006. 32% of the companies surveyed disclose compliance with labor standards on their website in April 2008, whereas 22-23% of companies disclosed this information on the company website in September 2008, April 2008 and September 2007. In April 2007 only 15% of companies disclosed this information online.
- 41 of the 110 CEE companies surveyed (37%) publish an English-language stand-alone ESG report online on the record date of April 15, 2009. This is a significant improvement vis-à-vis 28 companies (26%) in September 2008.
- 21 of the 110 CEE companies surveyed (19%) disclose information on the integration of environmental considerations in supply chain management in the annual report available online on April 15, 2009, whereas on September 15 2008 only six (5%) did so. 33 of the companies surveyed (30%) disclose this information on their website in April 2009, compared with 15.4% in September 2008, 17% in April 2008, 16% in September 2007 and 26% in April 2007.
Note: The survey consists of the following documents: a report of the survey findings presenting data aggregated by country; a database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in each of the 11 CEE countries; and a separate database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in BRIC and Ukraine.
A list of companies with stand-alone English-language ESG reports is an appendix to the survey and is published as a separate document.
To download the survey, the databases and a separate list of companies that publish a stand-alone English-language ESG report, please click on the links below:
Friday, April 24, 2009 - Sunday, April 26, 2009
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Gdansk, Poland
On April 24 - 26, 2009 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a series of lectures on corporate governance as part of the School of American Law organized by the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdansk and Chicago-Kent College of Law.
19 students attended the course. During the first session, Mr. Mazullo reviewed information presented during the first set of lectures delivered in January 2009, including: definitions of key terminology (compliance, corporate governance, disclosure, etc.); analysis of various models of corporate governance; explanation of the rights/responsibilities of corporate organs; and specific examples of corporate governance in practice, demonstrated by company-specific case studies. During the subsequent sessions, students analyzed case studies about companies listed and/or operating in Germany, India, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Mr. Mazullo outlined the rationale for corporate disclosure on environmental, social and governance (ESG) data. He then presented the PFS Program’s regional surveys on reporting on corporate governance (Investor Relations Online) and reporting on corporate social responsibility (CSR) by the largest listed companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries; Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC); and Ukraine.
Through an agreement with the School of American Law, students who attend the lectures and complete the School of American Law may apply for an unpaid internship with the PFS Program. The School of American Law finances part of the costs of the internship, namely travel and accommodation costs of the student/intern. Between summer 2004 and April 2009, 20 graduates of the School of American Law completed a PFS Program internship.
During the one-month internship, the intern conducts (under the supervision of PFS Program staff) one of the PFS Program’s ongoing semi-annual regional surveys: Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries, BRIC and Ukraine or Survey of Reporting on CSR by the Largest Listed Companies in 11 CEE Countries, BRIC and Ukraine.
In summer 2009, Polish interns co-financed by the SAL will be paired with interns from South East Europe who attended a training workshop prior to the internship. The pre-internship training enhances the overall internship experience and is a quality-control mechanism for the PFS Program surveys.
To download the materials presented at the lectures, please click on the links below:
 | Agenda - Lectures on Corporate Governance - SAL - April 24-26, 2009.pdf - 13 KB |
| Session 1 - Does Corporate Governance Governance Matter - April 24, 2009.pdf - 424 KB |
| Session 2 - Case in Point - Satyam - April 24, 2009.pdf - 270 KB |
| Session 3 - Reporting on CSR - April 25, 2009.pdf - 1,223 KB |
| Session 4 - PFS Program - Survey of Reporting on CSR in CEE, BRIC and Ukraine - September 2008.pdf - 700 KB |
| Session 5 - Case Study - SRI - April 25, 2009.pdf - 184 KB |
| Session 6 - Case in Point - Germany - April 26, 2009.pdf - 283 KB |
| Session 7 - Cases in Point - April 26, 2009.pdf - 2,525 KB |
Friday, March 27, 2009 - Sunday, March 29, 2009
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Wroclaw, Poland
On March 27-29, 2009 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a series of lectures on corporate governance as part of the first edition of the School of American Law organized by the Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics of the University of Wroclaw and Chicago-Kent College of Law.
25 students attended the course. During the first session, Mr. Mazullo reviewed information presented during the first set of lectures delivered in January 2009, including: analysis of various models of corporate governance; explanation of the rights/responsibilities of corporate organs; and specific examples of corporate governance in practice, demonstrated by company-specific case studies. The case studies discussed concern companies listed and/or operating in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Mr. Mazullo then presented the PFS Program’s regional surveys on reporting on corporate governance (Investor Relations Online) and reporting on corporate social responsibility (CSR) by the largest listed companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries; Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC); and Ukraine. In the final session, Mr. Mazullo presented for the first time a case study written by PFS Program colleagues about the fraud scandal at Indian outsourcing company Satyam. The case study is a work in progress; it will be revised and updated as details regarding the case unfold.
Through an agreement with the School of American Law, students who attend the lectures and complete the School of American Law may apply for an internship with the PFS Program. The School of American Law finances part of the costs of the internship, namely travel and accommodation costs of the student/intern. In summer of 2009, a graduate of the first edition of the School of American Law will complete a PFS Program internship.
During the one-month unpaid internship, the intern conducts (under the supervision of PFS Program staff) one of the PFS Program’s ongoing semi-annual regional surveys: Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries, BRIC and Ukraine or Survey of Reporting on CSR by the Largest Listed Companies in 11 CEE Countries, BRIC and Ukraine. In summer 2009, Polish interns will be paired with interns from South East Europe who will attend a training workshop prior to the internship. The pre-internship training enhances the overall internship experience and is a quality-control mechanism for the PFS Program surveys.
To download the materials presented at the lectures, please click on the links below:
| Agenda - Lectures on Corporate Governance - SAL - March 27-29, 2009.pdf - 42 KB |
| Session 1 - Does Corporate Governance Governance Matter - March 27, 2009.pdf - 357 KB |
| Session 2 - Cases in Point - March 27, 2009.pdf - 2,280 KB |
| Session 3A - Reporting on Corporate Governance - March 28, 2009.pdf - 841 KB |
| Session 3B - PFS Program - Presentation - Investor Relations Online - Survey of Websites - February 2009.pdf - 1,419 KB |
| Session 3C - PFS Program - Press Release - Survey - IR Online - March 3, 2009.pdf - 50 KB |
| Session 4A - Reporting on CSR - March 28, 2009.pdf - 1,054 KB |
| Session 4B - PFS Program - Presentation - Survey of Reporting on CSR - September 2008.pdf - 700 KB |
| Session 5 - Case in Point - Satyam - March 29, 2009.pdf - 270 KB |
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
PFS Program’s 16th Regional Survey - Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Ten Largest Listed Companies in 11 CEE Countries
Today, the PFS Program publishes its 16th semi-annual regional survey: Investor Relations Online - Survey of Websites of the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. PFS Program Research Assistant Igor Solodovnik conducted the survey from January 15 through February 28, 2009.
In this edition of the survey, disclosure of detailed governance information decreased slightly in all categories surveyed. Thus, the positive trends observed in 2008 have not been sustained.
84% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online, compared with 88% in August 2008 and 90% in February 2008. 61% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about management online, compared with 64% in August 2008 and 63% in February 2008. 85.5% of the companies surveyed provide a list of board members online, compared with 91% in August 2008 and 87% in February 2008. 56% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about board members online, compared with 61% in August 2008 and 52% in February 2008.
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Ten Largest Listed Companies in 11 CEE Countries analyzes the websites of the ten largest listed companies in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. For the sixth time, the survey also analyzes companies in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as well as Ukraine in order to compare the online disclosure practices of CEE listed companies with peers in other emerging markets.
The survey analyzes the English-language websites and annual reports of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this ‘blue-chip’ peer group. Although the market capitalization of companies changes over time, the semi-annual surveys represent a snapshot of disclosure practices of the blue-chip peer group on a given day twice a year. Since the definition of the survey universe has remained the same since the first survey, the surveys provide time-series data for CEE blue-chip companies and thus enable the identification of online disclosure trends as well as best practice within the peer group.
The survey provides current data as of February 15, 2009 and comparisons with the 15 previous surveys, conducted in August 2008, February 2008, August 2007, February 2007, August 2006, February 2006, August 2005, February 2005, August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001.
The survey contains information compiled in the following groups and sub-groups:
- Current data on 110 companies in 11 CEE countries;
- Separate data on 80 companies in eight CEE countries that joined the European Union (EU) on May 1, 2004;
- Separate data on 30 companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania;
- Comparisons of the data from this current survey with data from the previous 15 conducted every August and February since August 2001; and
- Separate data on 40 companies in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as well as 10 companies in Ukraine.
Survey results include the following:
Websites: In ten of the 11 CEE countries surveyed, each of the ten largest listed companies has a local-language website. In Czech Republic eight of the ten companies surveyed have a local-language website. Each of the ten companies surveyed in Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia has an English-language website. 90% of the companies surveyed in Bulgaria and Estonia, 80% in Croatia and 70% in Romania have an English-language website.
Information on Management: As noted above, the percentage of companies surveyed that provide a list of management online decreased to 84% in February 2009, from 88% in August 2008 and 90% in February 2008. 61% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about management online. This represents a slight decrease from the August 2008 survey when 64% of the companies surveyed disclosed this information, the largest percentage recorded since the surveys began in 2001. 63% of the companies surveyed disclosed this information in February 2008, compared with 59% in August 2007 and 53% in February 2007.
Information on Board Members: 85% of the companies surveyed provide a list of board members online, compared with 91% in August 2008 and 87% in February 2008. 56% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about board members online, compared with 61% in August 2008 and 52% in February 2008.
Best Practice: Since 2004, the survey includes recommendations on the ideal corporate website and compares CEE companies with the parameters of this ideal. On February 16, 2009 52 of the 110 companies surveyed in CEE (47%) disclose information in all of the categories analyzed in the basic PFS Program survey: local-language website; English-language website; list of management; list of board members; additional information on management; and additional information on board members. These 52 companies were examined according to best practice parameters. (In August 2008 56 of the 110 companies surveyed (51%) disclosed the above-mentioned basic information.)
Comparisons with BRIC and Ukraine: The largest listed companies in BRIC also disclose slightly less information in this survey than in the previous survey. Companies in BRIC generally outperform peers in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004; however, in two categories (English-language website and list of supervisory board members) companies in the eight CEE countries outperform peers in BRIC. The Ukrainian companies surveyed disclose less information than their peers in both BRIC and CEE; however, a slight improvement was recorded vis-à-vis the previous survey.
- Each of the companies surveyed in BRIC (100%) has a local language website. In the CEE-11 countries, 98% of the companies surveyed have a local language website. (In ten of the 11 CEE countries surveyed, each of the 10 companies surveyed has a local language website. In Czech Republic, eight of the ten companies surveyed have a local language website.) In Ukraine, each of the ten companies surveyed has a local language website.
- 95% of the companies surveyed in BRIC have an English website, compared with 94% in CEE-11, 99% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 70% in Ukraine.
- 98% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide a list of management online, compared with 84% in the CEE-11, 86% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 40% in Ukraine.
- 87.5% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide additional information on management online, compared with 61% in the CEE-11, 67.5% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 20% in Ukraine.
- 90% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide a list of board members online, compared with 85.5% in the CEE-11, 91% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 40% in Ukraine.
- 85% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide additional information on board members online, compared with 56% in CEE-11, 65% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 20% in Ukraine.
To download the survey, a presentation of survey results and the company database, please click on the links below:
Friday, January 23, 2009 - Sunday, January 25, 2009
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Wroclaw, Poland
On January 23-25, 2009 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a series of lectures on corporate governance as part of the first edition of the School of American Law organized by the Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics of the University of Wroclaw and Chicago-Kent College of Law.
35 Polish students attended the course. During the three days, students were introduced to the following topics: corporate governance models (including the Anglo-US, German, Japanese and Polish models); disclosure regimes; the legal and self-regulatory framework for corporate governance; the rights and responsibilities of corporate organs, including management and the board; shareholders’ rights; and the use of governance information by shareholders and stakeholders.
Students discussed practical and theoretical aspects of corporate governance in several jurisdictions (including Poland) by analyzing a number of case studies about real companies covering each of the above-mentioned topics.
A second set of lectures will follow on March 27-29, 2009, during which students will be exposed to the following: trends in non-financial reporting by listed companies (reporting on corporate governance); corporate social responsibility (CSR); and reporting on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.
Through an agreement with the School of American Law (SAL), students who attend the lectures and complete the SAL may apply for an internship with the PFS Program. The SAL finances part of the costs of the internship, namely travel and accommodation costs of the student/intern.
During the one-month unpaid internship, the intern conducts one of the PFS Program’s ongoing semi-annual regional surveys: “Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries” or “Survey of Reporting on CSR by the Largest Listed Companies in 11 CEE Countries.” When possible, Polish interns will be paired with interns from South East Europe, thereby enhancing both the internship experience and the quality of the PFS Program surveys.
To download the materials presented at the lectures, please click on the links below:
Friday, January 16, 2009 - Sunday, January 18, 2009
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Gdansk, Poland
On January 16-18, 2009 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a series of lectures on corporate governance as part of the School of American Law organized by the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdansk and Chicago-Kent College of Law.
29 Polish students and a representative of NASDAQ OMX Riga Stock Exchange attended the course. During the three days, students were introduced to the following topics: corporate governance models (including the Anglo-US, German, Japanese and Polish models); disclosure regimes; the legal and self-regulatory framework for corporate governance; the rights and responsibilities of corporate organs, including management and the board; shareholders’ rights; trends in non-financial reporting by listed companies (reporting on corporate governance); and the use of governance information by shareholders and stakeholders.
Students discussed practical and theoretical aspects of corporate governance in several jurisdictions (including Poland) by analyzing a number of case studies about real companies covering each of the above-mentioned topics.
A second set of lectures will follow in April 2009, during which students will analyze additional case studies related to corporate governance, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and reporting on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.
Through an agreement with the School of American Law (SAL), students who attend the lectures and complete the SAL may apply for an internship with the PFS Program. The SAL finances part of the costs of the internship, namely travel and accommodation costs of the student/intern. Between summer 2004 and December 2008, 19 graduates of the SAL completed a PFS Program internship.
During the one-month unpaid internship, the intern conducts one of the PFS Program’s ongoing semi-annual regional surveys: “Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries” or “Survey of Reporting on CSR by the Largest Listed Companies in 11 CEE Countries.” When possible, Polish interns will be paired with interns from South East Europe, thereby enhancing both the internship experience and the quality of the PFS Program surveys.
To download the materials presented at the lectures, please click on the links below:
Thursday, October 9, 2008
PFS Program’s 11th Regional Survey – Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program publishes its 11th semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries. This edition of the survey was co-financed by DWS Investments (Deutsche Bank Group). PFS Program Assistant Magdalena Grabowska, PFS Program Intern Tomasz Pieczyk (Poland), PFS Program Intern Nikola Smolcic (Croatia) and PFS Program Research Assistant Igor Solodovnik conducted the survey from July 1 through September 30, 2008.
Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia were surveyed for the 11th time; companies in Hungary and Poland were surveyed for the tenth time; and companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania were surveyed for the ninth time. Moreover, a fifth analysis of peer companies (the ten largest listed companies by market capitalization) in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as well as Ukraine allows for ongoing benchmarking with these emerging market peers.
PFS Program surveys analyze the annual reports and websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned 11 CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the semi-annual surveys of reporting on CSR represent a snapshot of this peer group’s CSR disclosure practices on a given day twice a year. Furthermore, by analyzing disclosures in both annual reports and websites, the surveys track the timing of the publication of the annual report and the related yet separate issue of periodic disclosure, namely, how blue-chip companies keep their websites data-rich and up-to-date. The surveys enable companies to benchmark their disclosure practices against peers on a national, industry and regional basis.
This survey analyzes companies’ disclosures in English (in the English-language annual report and on the English-language company website) during the time period July 1 – September 15, 2008 on the following three topics: corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. The record date for the disclosures is September 15, 2008.
This edition of the survey documents a higher level of online disclosure of corporate governance information, continuing the trend over the past five years. More information is also disclosed in the area of social policy, compared with the previous survey published in April 2008. Disclosure of information about environmental performance and environmental standards as well as energy and water use increased, albeit from still low levels; significant progress remains to be made by most companies in disclosing detailed environmental data.
Overall, companies in BRIC outperform CEE peers in terms of the availability of English-language websites and annual reports as well as specific disclosures in all three areas. For example, 80% of the BRIC companies surveyed disclose compliance with a corporate governance code in the annual report, compared with 54% in CEE. 65% of the BRIC companies surveyed disclose information about company-specific code of business conduct/code of ethics in the annual report, compared with 16% in CEE. In general, BRIC companies also provide more information on social policy and environmental policy. However, the gap in all three areas is narrowing. Due to the lack of a number of drivers, Ukrainian companies lag behind both BRIC and CEE peers in all areas. However, the number of Ukrainian companies with English-language annual reports and websites continues to increase as does the amount of information disclosed in all three categories.
Survey findings include the following:
- 96% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have an English-language website on the record date of September 15, 2008, compared with 96% in April 2008, 94.5 % in September 2007, 94% in April 2007, 94% in September 2006, 87% in April 2006, 89% in September 2005 and 82% in April 2005. In comparison, 100% of the BRIC companies surveyed and 70% of the Ukrainian companies surveyed have an English-language website.
- 94% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have a 2006/2007 English-language annual report online on the record date of September 15, 2008 compared with 100% in BRIC and 30% in Ukraine.
- 71% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed disclose information on employee development/benefits in their annual reports available online. This is a significant increase over the 64% recorded in the previous four surveys.
- Nine Polish, eight Slovene, eight Hungarian, six Estonian, five Czech, four Latvian, three Bulgarian companies, one Croatian, one Lithuanian and one Romanian company disclose information regarding compliance with a corporate governance code on the company website. Ten Estonian, nine Slovene, seven Polish, seven Czech, seven Lithuanian, six Slovak, five Bulgarian, four Hungarian, three Croatian and two Romanian companies disclose this information in the annual report. This is the first time since the survey was first conducted that more than 50% of the CEE companies surveyed disclose information regarding compliance with a corporate governance code in the annual report.
- 36% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed disclose information on listed health and safety policy on their website as of September 15, 2008, compared with 32% in April 2008, 30% in September 2007, 26% in April 2007, 21% in September 2006 and 12% in April 2006.
- 34% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed disclose information on environmental performance in annual reports available on their website on September 15, 2008 compared with 30% in April 2008, 33% in September 2007, 13% in April 2007, 25% in September 2006 and 18% in April 2006, 22% in September 2005, 24% in April 2005 and 27% in August 2004.
- 28 of the 110 CEE companies surveyed (26%) publish a stand-alone English-language ESG report as of September 15, 2008. (This represents the same percentage as in the most recent survey, conducted in April 2008.) Of the 28 reports published in CEE on the current record day, 25 (89%) use recognized standards and eight (28%) include a third-party assurance statement. A list of companies that publish a stand-alone environmental, social and governance (ESG) report online in English may be found as a separate document below.
- 17 of the 40 BRIC companies surveyed (42.5%) publish a stand-alone English-language ESG report. Of the 17 reports published in BRIC, 15 (88%) use recognized standards and ten (59%) provide a third-party assurance. No Ukrainian company produces such a report as of the record date of September 15, 2008.
Note: The survey consists of the three following documents: a report of the survey findings presenting data aggregated by country; a database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in each of the 11 CEE countries; and a separate database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in BRIC and Ukraine.
To download the survey, the database and a separate list of companies that publish an English-language stand-alone ESG report, please click on the links below:
Thursday, September 11, 2008 - Friday, September 19, 2008
19th Warsaw Actuarial Summer School
Warsaw, Poland
From September 11- 19, 2008 the 19th Warsaw Actuarial Summer School (WASS) took place in Warsaw, Poland. WASS is a joint venture of the Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw and the Polish Society of Actuaries. This year’s WASS was the 19th edition of the Summer School, which since 2003 has focused on continuing education of actuaries who have already completed basic academic training in actuarial science. The program included three lectures: the role of enterprise risk management (ERM), stochastic claims reserving and variable annuities.
The PFS Program financed the tuition of two actuaries from the Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority and an actuary from the Insurance Agency of Republika Sprska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
PFS Program’s 15th Regional Survey - Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the PFS Program publishes its 15th semi-annual Survey of Online Investor Relations of the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in eleven Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.” PFS Program Assistant Magdalena Grabowska and PFS Program Intern Nikola Smolcic (Croatia) conducted the survey from July 1 through August 31, 2008.
In this edition of the survey, disclosure of detailed govenance information in almost all categories remains at or reaches its highest level since the first survey was conducted in August 2001. This trend has been observed since February 2006 and may be viewed as sustainable.
91% of the companies surveyed provide a list of board members online, compared with 87% in February 2008, 82% in August 2007 and 81% in February 2007 as well as August 2006. This is the largest percentage recorded since the first survey and the first time that more than 90% of the companies surveyed provide a list of board members online. 61% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about board members online. This is also the largest percentage recorded since the first survey and the first time that more than 60% of the companies surveyed provide this information online. It represents a significant increase over the most recent survey (52% in August 2007) and previous surveys (51% in August 2007 and 40% in February 2007).
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE analyzes the websites of the ten largest listed companies in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. For the fifth time, the survey also analyzes companies in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as well as Ukraine in order to compare the online disclosure practices of CEE listed companies with peers in other emerging markets.
The survey analyzes the English-language websites and annual reports of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this ‘blue-chip’ peer group. Although the market capitalization of companies changes over time, the semi-annual surveys represent a snapshot of disclosure practices of the blue-chip peer group on a given day twice a year. Since the definition of the survey universe has remained the same since the first survey, the surveys provide time-series data for CEE blue-chip companies and thus enable the identification of online disclosure trends as well as best practice within the peer group.
The survey provides current data as of August 15, 2008 and comparisons with the 14 previous surveys, conducted in February 2008, August 2007, February 2007, August 2006, February 2006, August 2005, February 2005, August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001.
Survey results include the following:
Websites: In ten of the 11 CEE countries surveyed, each of the ten largest listed companies has a local-language website. In Czech Republic eight of the ten companies surveyed have a local-language website. Each of the ten companies surveyed in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia has an English-language website. 80% of the companies surveyed in Croatia and 70% in Romania have an English-language website.
Information on Management: 88% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online; 64.5% provide additional information on management. Disclosure in the former category decreased slightly (2%) since the last survey whereas the latter represents a record high since the first survey was conducted and a slight increase vis-à-vis February 2008 (63%) and August 2007 (59%).
Information on Board Members: 91% of the companies surveyed provide a list of board members online and 61% provide additional information on board members. Each category increased to a higher new record since the first survey was conducted and to new thresholds above 90% and 60% respectively. Disclosure in the latter category represents a significant increase from 52% in February 2008, 51% in August 2007, 40% in February 2007, 36% in August 2006 and 41% in February 2006.
Best Practice: Since 2004, the survey includes recommendations on the ideal corporate website and compares CEE companies with the parameters of this ideal. This component of the survey identifies best practice and enables CEE companies to benchmark their disclosure against peers in the region, other emerging markets and industry best practice. Here also, the time-series data identifies online disclosure trends.
On August 15, 2008 56 of the 110 companies surveyed in CEE (51%) disclose information in all of the categories analyzed in the basic PFS Program survey: local-language website; English-language website; list of management; list of board members; additional information on management; and additional information on board members. This is the first survey in which over 50% of the companies surveyed provide all of the basic information analyzed. On February 15, 2008 51 of the 110 companies surveyed in CEE (46%) disclosed information in all of the basic categories analyzed in the survey. On August 15, 2007 47 of the 110 CEE companies surveyed (43%) disclosed information in all of the basic categories analyzed in the survey. Therefore, over the past year a slight improvement has been documented in each edition of the survey.
Comparisons with BRIC and Ukraine: The largest listed companies in BRIC equal or outperform their CEE peers in every category. However, the gap continues to narrow. Furthermore, when companies in BRIC are compared with peers in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004, the difference between the peer groups is much smaller. The Ukrainian companies surveyed disclose less information than their peers in both BRIC and CEE; however, improvements are discernible over time. Detailed comparisons include the following:
- Each of the companies surveyed in BRIC has a local language website. In ten of the 11 CEE countries surveyed, each of the companies surveyed has a local language website. In Czech Republic, eight of the ten companies surveyed have a local language website. In Ukraine, nine of the ten companies surveyed have a local language website.
- In BRIC, all of the companies surveyed have an English website, compared with 95.5% in CEE-11, 100% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 70% in Ukraine.
- 97.5% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide a list of management online, compared with 88% in the CEE-11 and 91% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004. In Ukraine 40% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online.
- 87.5% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide additional information on management online, compared with 64.5% in the CEE-11, 70% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 50% in Ukraine.
- All of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide a list of board members online, compared with 91% in the CEE-11, 97.5% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 30% in Ukraine.
- 95% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide additional information on board members online, compared with 61% in CEE-11, 70% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 10% in Ukraine.
The survey contains information compiled in the following groups and sub-groups:
- Current data on 110 companies in eleven CEE countries;
- Separate data on 80 companies in eight CEE countries that joined the European Union (EU) on May 1, 2004;
- Separate data on 30 companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania;
- Comparisons of the data from this current survey with data from the previous 14 conducted every August and February since August 2001; and
- Separate data on 40 companies in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as well as 10 companies in Ukraine.
To download the survey, a presentation of survey results and the company database, please click on the links below:
Thursday, May 8, 2008
PFS Program’s tenth Regional Survey – Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program publishes its tenth semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries. This edition of the survey was co-financed by DWS Investments (Deutsche Bank Group). PFS Program Intern Dominik Grodzki (Poland), PFS Program Assistant Magdalena Grabowska and PFS Program Research Assistant Igor Solodovnik conducted the survey from March 1 through April 30, 2008.
Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia were surveyed for the tenth time; companies in Hungary and Poland were surveyed for the ninth time; and companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania were surveyed for the eighth time. Moreover, a fourth analysis of peer companies (the ten largest listed companies by market capitalization) in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as well as Ukraine allows for ongoing benchmarking with these emerging market peers.
PFS Program surveys analyze the annual reports and websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned 11 CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the semi-annual surveys of reporting on CSR represent a snapshot of this peer group’s CSR disclosure practices on a given day twice a year. Furthermore, by analyzing disclosures in both annual reports and websites, the surveys track the timing of the publication of the annual report and the related yet separate issue of periodic disclosure, namely, how blue-chip companies keep their websites data-rich and up-to-date. The surveys enable companies to benchmark their disclosure practices against peers on a national, industry and regional basis.
This survey analyzes companies’ disclosures in English (in the English-language annual report and on the English-language company website) during the time period March – April 2008 on the following three topics: corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. The record date for the disclosures is April 15, 2008.
This edition of the survey documents a generally higher level of online disclosure of corporate governance information, continuing the trend over the past five years. Slightly more information is also disclosed in the area of social policy, compared with the previous survey published in September 2007. Disclosure of information about environmental policy has increased on company websites; however, significant progress remains to be made in disclosing information on environmental policy in the annual report.
Overall, companies in BRIC outperform CEE peers in terms of the availability of English-language websites and annual reports as well as specific disclosures in all three areas. In the field of corporate governance, the most significant difference concerns disclosure of information regarding compliance with a corporate governance code and a company-specific code of business conduct/code of ethics in both the website and annual report. In general, BRIC companies also provide more information on social policy and environmental policy. Due to the lack of a number of drivers, Ukrainian companies lag behind both BRIC and CEE peers in all areas. However, the number of Ukrainian companies with English-language websites has increased steadily over the past two years.
29 of the 110 CEE companies surveyed (26%) provide a stand-alone environmental, social and governance (ESG) report online in English on the record date of April 15, 2008. This represents a significant improvement over the most recent survey and continuation of an ongoing trend: 22 of the companies surveyed (20%) published such a report in September 2007, compared with 19 companies (17%) in April 2007 and 17 companies (15%) in September 2006. A list of companies that publish a stand-alone environmental, social and governance (ESG) report online in English may be found as a separate document below.
Survey findings include the following:
• 96% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have an English-language website on the record date of April 15, 2008, compared with 94.5 % in September 2007, 94% in April 2007, 94% in September 2006, 87% in April 2006, 89% in September 2005 and 82% in April 2005. In comparison, 100% of the BRIC companies surveyed and 70% of the Ukrainian companies surveyed have an English-language website.
• 87% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have a 2006/2007 English-language annual report online on the record date of April 15, 2008 compared with 100% in BRIC and 30% in Ukraine.
• Nine Slovene, eight Polish, eight Hungarian, seven Estonian, four Bulgarian, four Czech, four Latvian companies, one Croatian, one Lithuanian and one Romanian company disclose information regarding compliance with a corporate governance code on the company website. Nine Slovene, eight Estonian, seven Polish, six Czech, six Lithuanian, four Croatian, four Hungarian, three Bulgarian, three Slovak, two Romanian and one Latvian company disclose this information in the annual report.
• 64% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed disclose information on employee development/benefits on their website. This result has remained constant at 64% for the past four surveys.
• 24% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed disclose information on energy and water use on their website, compared with 17% in September 2007, 17% in April 2007, 21% in September 2006, 18% in April 2006, 20% in September 2005, 20% in April 2005 and 23% in August 2004.
• 29 of the 110 CEE companies surveyed (26%) publish a stand-alone English-language ESG report as of April 15, 2008. Of the 29 reports published in CEE, 27 (93%) use recognized standards and eight (28%) include a third-party assurance statement.
• 17 of the 40 BRIC companies surveyed (42.5%) publish a stand-alone English-language ESG report. Of the 17 reports published in BRIC, 14 (82%) use recognized standards and ten (59%) provide a third-party assurance. No Ukrainian company produces such a report as of the record date of April 15, 2008.
Note: The survey consists of the three following documents: a report of the survey findings presenting data aggregated by country; a database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in each of the 11 CEE countries; and a separate database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in BRIC and Ukraine. This edition of the survey includes a newly-designed and more user-friendly database which lists the companies surveyd in the first spreadsheet, entitled, „Table of Contents (LOC).”
To download the survey, the database and a separate list of companies that publish an English-language stand-alone ESG report, please click on the links below:
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Opening of the East-West Management Institute (EWMI) Representative Office in Poland
On Thursday, April 24, 2008 the East-West Management Institute (EWMI) Representative Office in Poland was opened.
The office will implement the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program, in cooperation with counterparts across SEE and CEE.
As of October 1, 2007 USAID’s priorities for the PFS Program in SEE are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
Friday, April 11, 2008 - Sunday, April 13, 2008
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Gdansk, Poland
From April 11-13, 2008 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a series of lectures on corporate governance as part of the School of American Law organized by the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdansk.
In the first lecture, Mr. Mazullo reviewed information presented during the first set of lectures delivered in January 2008, including: analysis of various models of corporate governance; explanation of the rights/responsibilities of corporate organs; and specific examples of corporate governance in practice, demonstrated by company-specific case studies. He then presented the most recent research conducted and co-financed by the PFS Program on reporting on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) by listed companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries; Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC); and Ukraine. Each of the remaining lectures consisted of a case study regarding a particular corporate governance or CSR issue. The case studies discussed concern companies listed and/or operating in Cambodia, China, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Mr. Mazullo presented for the second time a case study written by PFS Program colleagues about the ongoing corruption scandal at the German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG. The case study is a work in progress; it will be revised and updated as details regarding this case unfold.
Through an agreement with the School of American Law, students who attend the lectures and complete the School of American Law may apply for an internship with the PFS Program. The School of American Law finances part of the costs of the internship, namely travel and accommodation costs of the student/intern. Between summer 2004 and April 2008, 18 graduates of the School of American Law completed a PFS Program internship.
During the one-month unpaid internship, the intern conducts one of the PFS Program’s ongoing semi-annual regional surveys: Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries or Survey of Reporting on CSR by the Largest Listed Companies in 11 CEE Countries. In summer 2008, Polish interns will be paired with interns from South East Europe, thereby enhancing both the internship experience and the quality of the PFS Program surveys.
To download the materials presented at the lectures, please click on the links below:
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
PFS Program’s 14th Regional Survey - Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the PFS Program publishes its 14th semi-annual Survey of Online Investor Relations of the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in eleven Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. PFS Program Assistant Magdalena Grabowska and PFS Program Intern Lukasz Gilewicz conducted the survey from February 1 through February 29, 2008.
In this edition of the survey, disclosure in almost all categories remains at or reaches its highest level since the first survey was conducted in August 2001. This trend has been observed since February 2006 and may be viewed as sustainable. This edition of the survey documents an ongoing increase in disclosure of detailed governance information.
90% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online, compared with 86% in August 2007. This is the largest percentage recorded since the surveys began in 2001. 63% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about management online, compared with 59% in August 2007 and 53% in February 2007. This is also the largest percentage recorded since the surveys began in 2001.
87% of the companies surveyed provide a list of board members online and 52% provide additional information on board members. The former category increased to a new record since the first survey was conducted, from 82% in August 2007. Disclosure in the latter category also reached a new record, posting a slight increase from 51% in August 2007 and a significant increase over 40% in February 2007.
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE analyzes the websites of the ten largest listed companies in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. For the fourth time, the survey also analyzes companies in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as well as Ukraine in order to compare the online disclosure practices of CEE listed companies with peers in other emerging markets.
The survey analyzes the English-language websites and annual reports of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this ‘blue-chip’ peer group. Although the market capitalization of companies changes over time, the semi-annual surveys represent a snapshot of disclosure practices of the blue-chip peer group on a given day twice a year. Since the definition of the survey universe has remained the same since the first survey, the surveys provide time-series data for CEE blue-chip companies and thus enable the identification of online disclosure trends as well as best practice within the peer group.
The survey provides current data as of February 15, 2008 and comparisons with the 13 previous surveys, conducted in August 2007, February 2007, August 2006, February 2006, August 2005, February 2005, August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001.
Since 2004, the survey includes recommendations on the ideal corporate website and compares CEE companies with the parameters of this ideal. This component of the survey identifies best practice and enables CEE companies to benchmark their disclosure against peers in the region, other emerging markets and industry best practice. Here also, the time-series data identifies online disclosure trends.
Survey results include the following:
Websites: In nine of the 11 CEE countries surveyed, each of the ten largest listed companies has a local-language website on February 15, 2008. In Bulgaria and Lithuania, nine of the ten companies surveyed have a local-language website. In the previous survey, 109 companies surveyed had a local-language website. One of the ten Bulgarian companies surveyed did not have a local-language website.
94.5% of the companies surveyed have an English-language website; the percentage increased from 93% in August 2007.
Information on Management: 90% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online; 63% provide additional information on management. As noted above, in each category the results represent a new record high since the first survey was conducted in 2001.
Information on Board Members: 87% of the companies surveyed provide a list of board members online and 52% provide additional information on board members. The former category increased to a new record since the first survey was conducted, from 82% in August 2007. Disclosure in the latter category also reached a new record, posting a slight increase from 51% in August 2007 and a significant increase over 40% in February 2007.
Comparisons with BRIC and Ukraine: The largest listed companies in BRIC equal or outperform their CEE peers in every category. However, the gap continues to narrow. Furthermore, when companies in BRIC are compared with peers in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004, the difference between the peer groups is much smaller. The Ukrainian companies surveyed disclose less information than their peers in both BRIC and CEE. However, the disclosures made by the Ukrainian companies improved vis-à-vis the previous survey. Detailed comparisons include the following:
- Each of the companies surveyed in BRIC has a local language website. In nine of the 11 CEE countries surveyed, each of the companies surveyed has a local language website. In Bulgaria and Lithuania, nine of the ten companies surveyed have a local language website. In Ukraine, nine of the ten companies surveyed have a local language website.
- 100% of the companies surveyed in BRIC have an English website, compared with 94.5% in CEE-11, 99% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 70% in Ukraine.
- 100% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide a list of management online, compared with 90% in the CEE-11 and 94% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004. In Ukraine 30% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online.
- 87.5% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide additional information on management online, compared with 63% in the CEE-11, 71% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 20% in Ukraine.
- 100% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide a list of board members online, compared with 87% in the CEE-11, 91% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 20% in Ukraine.
- 87.5% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide additional information on board members online, compared with 52% in CEE-11, 64% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 10% in Ukraine.
The survey contains information compiled in the following groups and sub-groups:
- Current data on 110 companies in eleven CEE countries;
- Separate data on 80 companies in eight CEE countries that joined the European Union (EU) on May 1, 2004;
- Separate data on 30 companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania;
- Comparisons of the data from this current survey with data from the previous 13 surveys conducted every August and February since August 2001; and
- Separate data on 50 companies in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as well as Ukraine.
To download the survey, a presentation of survey results and the company database, please click on the links below:
Friday, January 11, 2008 - Sunday, January 13, 2008
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Gdansk, Poland
On January 11-13, 2008 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a series of lectures on corporate governance as part of the School of American Law organized by the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdansk and Chicago-Kent College of Law.
31 Polish students attended the course. During the three days, students were introduced to the following topics: corporate governance models (including the Anglo-US, German, Japanese and Polish models); disclosure regimes; the legal and self-regulatory framework for corporate governance; the rights and responsibilities of corporate organs, including management and the board; shareholders’ rights; trends in non-financial reporting by listed companies (reporting on corporate governance); and the use of governance information by shareholders and stakeholders.
Students discussed practical and theoretical aspects of corporate governance in several jurisdictions (including Poland) by analyzing a number of case studies about real companies covering each of the above-mentioned topics.
A second set of lectures will follow in April 2008, during which students will analyze additional case studies related to corporate governance, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and reporting on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.
Through an agreement with the School of American Law, students who attend the lectures and complete the School of American Law may apply for an internship with the PFS Program. The School of American Law finances part of the costs of the internship, namely travel and accommodation costs of the student/intern. Between summer 2004 and summer 2007, 16 graduates of the School of American Law completed a PFS Program internship.
During the one-month unpaid internship, the intern conducts one of the PFS Program’s ongoing semi-annual regional surveys: Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries or Survey of Reporting on CSR by the Largest Listed Companies in 11 CEE Countries. In 2008, Polish interns will be paired with interns from South East Europe, thereby enhancing both the internship experience and the quality of the PFS Program surveys.
To download the materials presented at the lectures, please click on the links below:
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
PFS Program’s ninth Regional Survey – Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program publishes its ninth semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries. This edition of the survey was co-financed by DWS Investments (Deutsche Bank Group). PFS Program Interns Martin Masse (Canada), Ivan Sentevski (Serbia) and Emilia Swiatczak (Poland) as well as PFS Program Assistant Magdalena Grabowska conducted the survey from August through October 2007. Additional co-financing for the Canadian intern was provided by MBAs Without Borders, whose mission is to contribute to the business and social development of transition economies through work rotations of MBA professionals.
Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia were surveyed for the ninth time; companies in Hungary and Poland were surveyed for the eighth time; and companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania were surveyed for the seventh time. Moreover, a third-time analysis of peer companies (the ten largest listed companies by market capitalization) in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as well as Ukraine allows for benchmarking with these emerging market peers for the third time.
PFS Program surveys analyze the annual reports and websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned 11 CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the semi-annual surveys of reporting on CSR represent a snapshot of this peer group’s CSR disclosure practices on a given day twice a year. Furthermore, by analyzing disclosures in both annual reports and websites, the surveys track the timing of the publication of the annual report and the related yet separate issue of periodic disclosure, namely, how blue-chip companies keep their websites data-rich and up-to-date. The surveys enable companies to benchmark their disclosure practices against peers on a national, industry and regional basis.
This survey analyzes companies’ disclosures in English (in the English-language annual report and on the English-language company website) during the time period August - September 2007 on the following three topics: corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. The record date for the disclosures is September 15, 2007.
This edition of the survey documents a generally higher level of online disclosure of corporate governance information, continuing the trend over the past four years. Slightly more information is also disclosed in the area of social policy, compared with the previous survey published in May 2007. Significant progress remains to be made in disclosing information on environmental policy.
Overall, companies in BRIC outperform CEE peers in terms of the availability of English-language websites and annual reports as well as specific disclosures in all three areas. With regards to corporate governance, the most significant difference concerns compliance with a corporate governance code and disclosure of a code of business conduct/code of ethics in both the website and annual report. In general, BRIC companies also provide more information on social policy and environmental policy. Due to the lack of a number of drivers, Ukrainian companies lag behind both BRIC and CEE peers in all areas
22 of the 110 CEE companies surveyed (20%) provide a stand-alone environmental, social and governance (ESG) report online in English on the record date of September 15, 2007. This demonstrates continuation of an ongoing trend: 19 of the 110 companies surveyed (17%) published such a report in April 2007, compared with 17 companies (15%) in September 2006.
Survey findings include the following:
• 94.5% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have an English-language website on the record date of September 15, 2007, compared with 94% in April 2007, 94% in September 2006, 87% in April 2006, 89% in September 2005 and 82% in April 2005. In comparison, 97.5% of the BRIC companies surveyed and 60% of the Ukrainian companies surveyed have an English-language website.
• 82% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have a 2006 English-language annual report online on the same record date of September 15, 2007 compared with 90% in BRIC and 20% in Ukraine.
• Nine Polish, eight Slovene, six Hungarian, five Estonian, four Czech and four Latvian companies disclose information regarding compliance with a corporate governance code on the company website. Eight Polish, eight Slovene, seven Lithuanian, six Estonian, five Czech and four Hungarian companies disclose this information in the annual report.
• 33% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed disclose information on environmental performance on their website, compared with 20% in April 2007, 28% in September 2006, 19% in April 2006, 29% in September 2005, 26% in April 2005 and 24% in August 2004.
• 53% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed disclose information on sponsorships on their website, compared with 44% in April 2007, 44% in September 2006, 37% in April 2006, 47% in September 2005, 37% in April 2005 and 33% in August 2004.
• 22 of the 110 CEE companies surveyed (20%) publish a stand-alone English-language ESG report as of September 15, 2007. Of the 22 reports published in CEE, 20 (91%) use recognized standards and seven (32%) provide a third-party assurance statement.
• 15 of the 40 BRIC companies surveyed (38%) publish a stand-alone English-language ESG report. Of the 15 reports published in BRIC, 14 (93%) use recognized standards and nine (60) % provide a third-party assurance. No Ukrainian company produces such a report as of the record date of September 15, 2007.
Note: The survey consists of the three following documents: a report of the survey findings presenting data aggregated by country; a database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in each of the 11 CEE countries; and a separate database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in BRIC and Ukraine.
To download the survey and the two company databases, please click on the links below:
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
PFS Program’s 13th Regional Survey - Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the PFS Program publishes its 13th semi-annual Survey of Online Investor Relations of the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in eleven Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. PFS Program Assistant Magdalena Grabowska and PFS Program Intern Dagmara Lubczynska conducted the survey from July 2 through September 3, 2007.
In this edition of the survey, disclosure in almost all categories remains at or reaches its highest level since the first survey was conducted in August 2001. This trend has been observed since February 2006 and may be viewed as sustainable. In particular, this edition of the survey documents a dramatic increase in disclosure of detailed governance information. 59% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about management online, compared with 53% in February 2007 and 45% in August 2006. This is the largest percentage recorded since the surveys began in 2001. Furthermore, 51% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about board members online. This is also the largest percentage recorded since the first survey and represents a significant increase over previous surveys: 40% in February 2007 and 37% in August 2006.
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE analyzes the websites of the ten largest listed companies in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. For the third time, the survey also analyzes companies in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as well as Ukraine in order to compare the online disclosure practices of CEE listed companies with peers in other emerging markets.
The survey analyzes the English-language websites and annual reports of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this ‘blue-chip’ peer group. Although the market capitalization of companies changes over time, the semi-annual surveys represent a snapshot of disclosure practices of the blue-chip peer group on a given day twice a year. Since the definition of the survey universe has remained the same since the first survey, the surveys provide time-series data for CEE blue-chip companies and thus enable the identification of online disclosure trends as well as best practice within the peer group.
The survey provides current data as of August 15, 2007 and comparisons with the 12 previous surveys, conducted in February 2007, August 2006, February 2006, August 2005, February 2005, August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001.
Since 2004, the survey includes recommendations on the ideal corporate website and compares CEE companies with the parameters of this ideal. This component of the survey identifies best practice and enables CEE companies to benchmark their disclosure against peers in the region, other emerging markets and industry best practice. Here also, the time-series data identifies online disclosure trends.
Survey results include the following:
Websites: In ten of the 11 CEE countries surveyed, each of the ten largest listed companies has a local-language website on August 15, 2007. In Bulgaria, nine of the ten companies surveyed have a local-language website. In the previous two surveys, each of the 110 CEE companies surveyed had a local-language website on the record date. 93% of the companies surveyed have an English-language website; the percentage has remained constant for the past 18 months.
Information on Management: 86% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online; 59% provide additional information on management. Disclosure in the former category increased slightly (4%) since the last survey whereas the latter represents a record high since the first survey was conducted and a significant increase vis-à-vis February 2007 (53%) and August 2006 (45%).
Information on Board Members: 82% of the companies surveyed provide a list of board members online and 51% provide additional information on board members. The former category increased to a slightly higher new record since the first survey was conducted, from 81% in February 2007. Disclosure in the latter category also represents a new record high and a significant increase from 40% in February 2007, 36% in August 2006 and 41% in February 2006.
Comparisons with BRIC and Ukraine: The largest listed companies in BRIC equal or outperform their CEE peers in every category. However, the gap continues to narrow. Furthermore, when companies in BRIC are compared with peers in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004, the difference between the peer groups is much smaller. The Ukrainian companies surveyed disclose less information than their peers in both BRIC and CEE. Detailed comparisons include the following:
- Each of the companies surveyed in BRIC has a local language website. In ten of the 11 CEE countries surveyed, each of the companies surveyed has a local language website. In Bulgaria, nine of the ten companies surveyed have a local language website. In Ukraine, seven of the ten companies surveyed have a local language website.
- 98% of the companies surveyed in BRIC have an English website, compared with 93% in CEE-11, 99% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 60% in Ukraine.
- 95% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide a list of management online, compared with 86% in the CEE-11 and 92% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004. In Ukraine 40% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online.
- 90% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide additional information on management online, compared with 59% in the CEE-11, 71% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 30% in Ukraine.
- 95% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide a list of board members online, compared with 82% in the CEE-11, 87% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 30% in Ukraine.
- 93% of the companies surveyed in BRIC provide additional information on board members online, compared with 51% in CEE-11, 64% in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 20% in Ukraine.
The survey contains information compiled in the following groups and sub-groups:
- Current data on 110 companies in eleven CEE countries;
- Separate data on 80 companies in eight CEE countries that joined the European Union (EU) on May 1, 2004;
- Separate data on 30 companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania;
- Comparisons of the data from this current survey with data from the previous 12 conducted every August and February since August 2001; and
- Separate data on 50 companies in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as well as Ukraine.
To download the survey, a presentation of survey results and the company database, please click on the links below:
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Lecture on Investor Relations
Torun, Poland
On Thursday, May 31, 2007 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a lecture entitled, “Investor Relations Online: Best Practice in Central and Eastern Europe” at the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland. Approximately 140 students attended the lecture.
The lecture was organized by Professor Danuta Dziawgo, co-author of “Finance & Natural Environment: Experience of Poland against the Background of Developed Market Economies.” Investor relations is one of Professor Dziawgo’s areas of interest. She is currently writing a publication about investor relations in Poland.
To download the presentation, please click on the link below:
Monday, May 28, 2007 - Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Workshop: Bank as Creditor for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises (SMEs): Business Plan Analysis
Podgorica, Montenegro
On May 28-30, 2007 the Warsaw Institute of Banking (WIB) and the Association of Montenegrin Banks (AMB) held a workshop in Podgorica, Montenegro entitled, Bank as Creditor for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises (SMEs): Business Plan Analysis. This was a second joint WIB/AMB event co-financed by a PFS Program Grant. Please see the entry below dated April 23-25, 2007 for a description of the first event and the entry dated February 1, 2007 for a description of the PFS Program Grant.
The aim of this workshop was to increase the capacity of the Association of Montenegrin Banks and commercial bankers in Montenegro in the field of internal audit. The specific goals of the workshop were to: understand the specificity of SME lending, namely the sources of risk and how to mitigate them; consolidate the knowledge of how to build a classic business plan for an SME; develop practical skills in analyzing economic phenomena occurring in business operations of banks clients and their exposition in financial statements – to optimize the risk of banking products offered to those clients; acquire the skill of fast interpretation of SME reports and fast evaluation of their economic condition; gain practical knowledge in the area of data collection and SME overall credit analysis; and upgrade the skills in effective credit analysis of SMEs, with a particular focus on business plan and the evaluation of reliability of data provided.
12 participants attended the workshop, during which they followed the presentation delivered by Dariusz Pelc, WIB, and analyzed several case studies relatetd to SME credit analysis. The workshop was delivered in Polish with consecutive interpretation.
To download the course outline, presentation and list of participants please click on the links below:
Friday, May 18, 2007 - Sunday, May 20, 2007
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Gdansk, Poland
From May 18-20, 2007 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a series of lectures on corporate governance as part of the School of American Law organized by the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdansk.
In the first lecture, Mr. Mazullo presented the most recent research conducted and co-financed by the PFS Program on reporting on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) by listed companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Each of the remaining lectures consisted of a case study regarding a particular corporate governance or CSR issue. The case studies discussed concern companies listed and/or operating in Cambodia, China, Columbia, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. In Gdansk, Mr. Mazullo presented for the first time a new case study written by PFS Program colleagues about the ongoing corruption scandal at the German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG. The case study is a work in progress; it will be revised and updated as details regarding this case unfold.
To download the materials presented at the lectures, please click on the links below:
Monday, May 7, 2007
PFS Program’s eighth Regional Survey – Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program publishes its eighth semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries. This edition of the survey was co-financed by DWS Investments (Deutsche Bank Group). PFS Program Interns Magdalena Grabowska and Wojciech Stec as well as PFS Program Research Assistant Igor Solodovnik conducted the survey from March through May 2007.
Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia were surveyed for the eighth time; companies in Hungary and Poland were surveyed for the seventh time; and companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania were surveyed for the sixth time. Moreover, a second-time analysis of peer companies (the ten largest listed companies by market capitalization) in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as well as Ukraine allows for benchmarking with these emerging market peers for the second time.
PFS Program surveys analyze the annual reports and websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned 11 CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the semi-annual surveys of reporting on CSR represent a snapshot of this peer group’s CSR disclosure practices on a given day twice a year. Furthermore, by analyzing disclosures in both annual reports and websites, the surveys track the timing of the publication of the annual report and the related yet separate issue of periodic disclosure, namely, how blue-chip companies keep their websites data-rich and up-to-date. The surveys enable companies to benchmark their disclosure practices against peers on a national, industry and regional basis.
This survey analyzes companies’ disclosures in English (in the English-language annual report and on the English-language company website) during the time period March – April 2007 on the following three topics: corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. The record date for the disclosures is April 15, 2007.
In Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland all 10 of the companies surveyed in each country have an English-language website. 94% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have an English-language website. 85% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have either a 2004, 2005 or 2006 English-language annual report online by April 15, 2007. (Comparison of disclosures in annual reports is not as relevant in the spring edition of this semi-annual survey, since as of April 15 many companies have not yet published their 2005 annual report online.) In general, companies in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia disclose the most information online.
This eighth semi-annual regional survey demonstrates a generally similar level of disclosure on company websites to that observed during the past four years across all three information categories analyzed: corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. In general, companies provide more information on corporate governance than on environmental or social policy. Also, corporate governance codes continue to significantly impact reporting on corporate governance issues in certain countries. Several companies now issue separate/stand-alone reports on environmental, social and/or governance (ESG) issues. Of the 110 CEE companies surveyed, 19 (17%) have an English-language ESG report available online on April 15, 2007. This represents a significant increase (21%) since September 2006, when only 15% of the companies surveyed published such a report. In comparison, five Chinese, four Russian, four Brazilian and two Indian companies have English-language ESG reports available online.
Survey findings include the following:
• 94% of the CEE companies surveyed have an English-language website on the record date of April 15, 2007 compared with 94% in September 2006, 87% in April 2006, 89% in September 2005 and 81% in April 2005. In contrast, 100% of the surveyed companies in BRIC and 60% of the Ukrainian companies surveyed have an English-language website.
• Nine Polish, seven Czech and seven Slovene companies disclose implementation of a corporate governance code in their annual report.
• 69% of the CEE companies surveyed disclose information on their governance structure in the company's annual report, compared with 75% in September 2006, 62% in April 2006 and 68% in September 2005. 88% of the BRIC companies surveyed and 20% of the Ukrainian companies surveyed provide this information.
• 65% of the CEE companies surveyed disclose employee benefits or development policies in the (2004, 2005 or 2006) annual report currently available online, compared with 64% in September 2006, 42% in April 2006, 48% in September 2005, 37% in April 2005 and 42% in August 2004.
• 49% of the CEE companies surveyed disclose information on compliance with environmental standards on their website, compared with 45% in September 2006, 37% in April 2006, 48% in September 2005, 41% in April 2005 and 37% in August 2004.
• 26% of the CEE companies surveyed report on supply chain management on their website; this is the highest percentage recorded since the first survey conducted in summer 2003. In September 2006, only 10% of the companies surveyed provided this information online.
Note: The survey consists of the three following documents: a report of the survey findings presenting data aggregated by country; a database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in each of the 11 CEE countries; and a separate database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in BRIC and Ukraine.
To download the survey and the two company databases, please click on the links below:
Monday, April 23, 2007 - Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Workshop: Internal Audit in Banks
Podgorica, Montenegro
On April 23-25, 2007 in Podgorica, Montenegro Warsaw Institute of Banking (WIB) and the Association of Montenegrin Banks (AMB) held a workshop entitled, Internal Audit in Banks. The event was co-financed by a PFS Program Grant. Please see the entry below dated February 1, 2007 for a description of the PFS Program Grant.
The aim of this workshop was to increase the capacity of the Association of Montenegrin Banks and commercial bankers in Montenegro in the field of internal audit. The specific goals of the workshop were to: present the mechanisms which build the system of internal control; learn the tasks necessary to establish an internal audit unit; understand the rules which govern the work of an internal audit unit; recognize the stages of an internal audit process; and practice the skills of planning, performing and documenting an audit according to international standards of internal audit.
10 participants attended the workshop, during which they followed the presentation delivered by Dorota Korytowska, WIB, and worked on several practical exercises. The workshop was delivered in Polish with consecutive interpretation.
To download the course outline, presentation and list of participants please click on the links below:
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Study Visit of Kosovo Bankers Association to the Warsaw Institute of Banking and the Polish Bank Association
Warsaw, Poland
On March 6-7, 2007 representatives of the Kosovo Bankers Association (KBA) conducted a study visit to Poland to visit the Warsaw Institute of Banking and the Polish Bank Association.
During the study visit, the KBA obtained detailed information about the training programs delivered by the Warsaw Institute of Banking and advocacy programs undertaken by the Polish Bank Association. Since 2004, one important component of the PFS Program’s work is the exchange of experiences between financial sector institutions in the new member states of the European Union and counterpart institutions in South East Europe.
The study visit provided KBA with useful knowledge that will assist it in fulfilling its advocacy and training mandates. As a result of the discussions with the Polish Bank Association, KBA established three permanent consulting committees: a legal consulting committee, a committee on payments and an anti-money laundering committee. Following the study visit, KBA conducted a training needs analysis for 2008.
The study visit was co-financed by a PFS Program Grant. (See the entry below dated February 2, 2007.)
Monday, March 5, 2007
PFS Program’s 12th Regional Survey - Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the PFS Program publishes its 12th semi-annual Survey of Online Investor Relations of the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in eleven Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. PFS Program Manager Agnieszka Cenzartowicz, PFS Program Research Assistant Igor Solodovnik and Catherine Sykes, East-West Management Institute (EWMI) New York conducted the survey from January 2 through March 2, 2007.
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE analyzes the websites of the ten largest listed companies in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. For the second time, the survey provides comparisons with BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and Ukraine in order to compare online disclosure practices with peers in other emerging markets.
This survey analyzes the English-language websites and annual reports of the 10 largest listed companies in the aforementioned CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this ‘blue-chip’ peer group. Although the market capitalization of companies changes over time, these semi-annual surveys represent a snapshot of disclosure practices of the blue-chip peer group on a given day twice a year. Since the definition of the survey universe has remained the same since the first survey, the surveys provide time-series data for CEE blue-chip companies and thus enable the identification of online disclosure trends.
The survey provides current data as of February 15, 2007 and comparisons with the 11 previous surveys, published in August 2006, February 2006, August 2005, February 2005, August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001.
In this survey, disclosure in almost all categories remained at or reached its highest level since the first survey was conducted in August 2001. This trend has been observed since February 2006 and may be viewed as sustainable. As of February 15, 2007 all companies surveyed in all 11 countries have a local language website. A large majority have an English-language website: including all 10 companies in surveyed in Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. However, while basic information about management and boards is now generally available online, detailed information is still lacking in many markets.
Beginning in 2004, the survey includes recommendations on the ideal corporate website and compares CEE companies to this ideal. This component of the survey is designed to help identify best practice and enables CEE companies to benchmark their disclosure against peers in the region against other emerging markets and against industry best practice according to standardized parameters. Here also, the time-series data permits identification of trends.
Survey results include the following:
• Websites: Each of the 110 CEE companies surveyed has a local-language website. This is the third consecutive time since the first survey was conducted in August 2001 that each CEE company surveyed has a local-language website. 94% of the companies surveyed have an English-language website; the percentage has remained constant for the past 18 months.
• Information on Management: 82% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online; 53% provide additional information on management. The former category decreased slightly (5%) whereas the later increased significantly (15%) vis-à-vis August 2006.
• Information on Board Members: 81% of the companies surveyed provide a list of board members online, whereas 40% provide additional information on their board members. The former category remained at the highest level reported since the first survey and the latter increased 7.5% to a level comparable to the highest level reported (41% in February 2006).
• Comparisons with BRIC and Ukraine: On average, the largest listed companies in the BRIC countries equal or outperform their CEE peers in every category. However, in several categories the difference is minimal. In Ukraine, in contrast, the companies surveyed disclose less information in English than their peers in both BRIC and CEE.
The PFS Program surveys analyze the websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned eleven CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the ongoing surveys represent a snapshot of this peer group’s disclosure practices on a given day twice a year and thereby provide insights into blue-chip companies’ corporate governance and investor relations practices. The surveys enable companies to benchmark their disclosure practices against peers on a national, industry and regional basis.
Comparative survey findings include the following:
• Each of the 40 companies surveyed in BRIC and each of the 110 CEE companies has a local-language website. In Ukraine, seven out of ten companies have a local-language website.
• 100% of the 40 companies surveyed in BRIC, 94% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed and 50% of the companies surveyed in Ukraine have an English-language website.
• 95% of the 40 companies surveyed in BRIC, 82% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed and 40% of the companies surveyed in Ukraine provide a list of management online.
• 78% of the 40 companies surveyed in BRIC, 53% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed and 30% of the companies surveyed in Ukraine provide additional information on management online.
• 92% of the 40 companies surveyed in BRIC, 81% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed and 20% of the companies surveyed in Ukraine provide a list of board members online.
• 70% of the 40 companies surveyed in BRIC, 40% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed and 20% of the companies surveyed in Ukraine provide additional information on board members online.
This survey presents data aggregated in the following groupings to enable different types of comparison:
• Combined data on the 10 largest-listed companies in each of the 11 CEE countries;
• Separate data on the eight new member states of the EU admitted on May 1, 2004;
• Separate data on Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania;
• Comparisons of the data from the current survey with data from the previous 11 surveys conducted since August 2001; and
• Separate data on Brazil, Russia India, China (BRIC) and Ukraine.
To download the survey, a presentation of survey results and the two company databases, please click on the links below:
Friday, February 2, 2007
PFS Program Grant to Kosovo Bankers Association
On Friday, February 2, 2007 the PFS Program awarded a PFS Program Grant to the Kosovo Bankers Association to conduct a Study Visit to Poland to visit the Warsaw Institute of Banking and the Polish Bank Association.
The PFS Program grant is an outcome of the Study Visit to Warsaw, Poland for Representatives of South East European (SEE) Bank Associations / Bank Training Institutes organized by the PFS Program, the Warsaw Institute of Banking and
The Gdansk Academy of Banking on February 14-15, 2006. Representatives of the Association of Montenegrin Banks, Association of Serbian Banks, Kosovo Bankers Association and the National Bank of Serbia participated in the Study Visit.
The study visit will take place in March 2007. It will educate staff of the Kosovo Bankers Association about the wide range of training provided to Polish bankers by the respective Polish institutions. The Kosovo Bankers Association will also learn more about the institutional capacity of the two Polish bank training institutes. Following the study visit, the Kosovo Bankers Association will develop its training program for 2007 and draft a longer-term training strategy, utilizing the insights gained during the study visit.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
PFS Program Grant to Warsaw Institute of Banking
On Thursday, February 1, 2007 the PFS Program awarded a PFS Program Grant to the Warsaw Institute of Banking to conduct two training workshops in Montenegro in cooperation with the Association of Montenegrin Banks. The first workshop will train bankers on internal audit. The second workshop will train bankers on how to analyze business plans submitted by Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs).
The PFS Program grant is an outcome of the Study Visit to Warsaw, Poland for Representatives of South East European (SEE) Bank Associations / Bank Training Institutes organized by the PFS Program, the Warsaw Institute of Banking and The Gdansk Academy of Banking on February 14-15, 2006. Representatives of the Association of Montenegrin Banks, Association of Serbian Banks, Kosovo Bankers’ Association and the National Bank of Serbia participated in the Study Visit.
Following the Study Visit, the Association of Montenegrin Banks conducted a needs assessment of its member banks to identify how to make best use of the expertise of potential Polish trainers. Upon review of the training needs identified in the needs assessment, the Association asked the Warsaw Institute of Banking to develop materials for the two above-mentioned training workshops. The Association of Montenegrin Banks, who will co-finance the project together with the Warsaw Institute of Banking and the PFS Program, will invite its member banks to participate in each of the workshops. Bankers and representatives of bank training institutes from neighboring countries will also be invited to participate in each of the workshops.
The workshops will take place in spring 2007.
Friday, January 12, 2007 - Sunday, January 14, 2007
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Gdansk, Poland
From January 12-14, 2007 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a series of lectures on corporate governance as part of the School of American Law organized by the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdansk and Chicago-Kent College of Law.
18 Polish students attended the course. During the three days, students were introduced to the following topics: corporate governance models (Anglo-US, German, Japanese and Polish); disclosure regimes; the legal and self-regulatory framework for corporate governance; and trends in non-financial reporting by listed companies (reporting on corporate governance and reporting on corporate social responsibility [CSR]). Students discussed practical and theoretical aspects of corporate governance in several jurisdictions by analyzing a number of case studies about real companies covering each of the above-mentioned topics.
Through an agreement with the School of American Law, students who attend the lectures and complete the School of American Law program may apply for an internship with the PFS Program. The School of American Law finances part of the costs of the internship, namely travel and accommodation costs of the student/intern. Between summer 2004 and summer 2006, ten graduates of the School of American Law completed a PFS Program internship.
During the one-month unpaid internship, the intern conducts one of the PFS Program’s surveys: Investor Relations Online or Survey of Reporting on CSR by the Largest Listed Companies in CEE. In 2007, a Polish intern or Polish interns will be paired with interns from South East Europe, thereby enhancing both the internship experience and the quality of the PFS Program surveys.
To download the materials presented at the lectures, please click on the links below:
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Roundtable “Responsible Investment: Sustainable Corporate Governance”
Warsaw, Poland
On Tuesday, November 28, 2006 the European Social Investment Forum (Eurosif), the Warsaw Institute of Banking, the Polish Bank Association, the Polish Institute of Directors and the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program organized a roundtable entitled, “Responsible Investment: Sustainable Corporate Governance.”
The aim of the event was to promote greater practical understanding of the impact on investments of corporate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues. This includes the relationship between these ESG issues and elements ranging from fiduciary duty to extra-financial analysis.
With the growing institutionalization of financial markets in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe, the organizing partners believe that this is the right time to create an opportunity to advance the discussion on the relevance of ESG issues for financial markets and in particular for long-term institutional investors.
There is now increasing consensus that ESG issues affect financial markets, and are particularly relevant for long-term investors. In fact, “Socially Responsible” investors have been developing corresponding expertise for many years now. Various approaches they have taken encompass:
• including ESG issues in financial analysis and stock selection;
• being an “active owner” of stock, meaning establishing a dialogue with investee companies on ESG issues; and
• actively voting shares at AGMs and proposing resolutions when required.
There is also a growing acceptance that it is part of investors’ fiduciary duty to take these issues into account when they could materially affect investment performance.
High-level speakers and expert panelists were invited to the roundtable to present their views and experience in order to raise awareness and spark discussions among participants.
The PFS Program co-financed the participation of representatives of the State Commission for Regulation of Financial Services Markets of Ukraine and the State Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine in the roundtable.
Please visit the Events page of the Eurosif website to learn more about the event and download the agenda as well as roundtable presentations.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries; First-Time Comparison with Peers in BRIC and Ukraine
Today, the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program publishes its seventh semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries. This edition of the survey was co-financed by DWS Investments (Deutsche Bank Group). DWS Investments provided funding for PFS Program interns Dana Krechowicz (Canada) and Plamena Spassova (Bulgaria), who conducted the survey together with PFS Program Research Assistant Michal Slawinski from August 14 through September 30, 2006. Additional co-financing for the Canadian intern was provided by MBAs Without Borders.
Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia were surveyed for the seventh time; companies in Hungary and Poland were surveyed for the sixth time; and companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania were surveyed for the fifth time. Moreover, an inaugural analysis of peer companies (the ten largest listed companies by market capitalization) in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) as well as Ukraine allows for benchmarking with these emerging market peers for the first time.
PFS Program surveys analyze the annual reports and websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned 11 CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the semi-annual surveys of reporting on CSR represent a snapshot of this peer group’s CSR disclosure practices on a given day twice a year. Furthermore, by analyzing disclosures in both annual reports and websites, the surveys track the timing of the publication of the annual report and the related yet separate issue of periodic disclosure, namely, how blue-chip companies keep their websites data-rich and up-to-date. The surveys enable companies to benchmark their disclosure practices against peers on a national, industry and regional basis.
This survey analyzes companies’ disclosures in English (in the English-language annual report and on the English-language company website) during the time period August – September 2006 on the following three topics: corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. The record date for the disclosures is September 15, 2006.
In Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia all 10 of the companies surveyed in each country have an English-language website. 94% of the 110 CEE companies surveyed have an English-language website. 71% of the 100 CEE companies surveyed had released their 2005 annual report online by September 15, 2006. In general, companies in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia disclose the most information online.
This seventh semi-annual regional survey demonstrates a generally similar level of disclosure on company websites to that observed during the past three years across all three information categories analyzed: corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. In general, companies provide more information on corporate governance than on environmental or social policy. Also, corporate governance codes continue to significantly impact reporting on corporate governance issues in certain countries. Several companies now issue separate/stand-alone reports on environmental, social and/or governance (ESG) issues. Of the 110 CEE companies surveyed, 14 (13%) have English-language ESG reports available online on September 15, 2006. Five companies (4.5%) produce the report in accordance with recognized standards, such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. Five Brazilian companies, four Russian companies, two Indian companies and two Chinese companies have English-language ESG reports available online. In comparison, a July 2006 research survey conducted by Social Investment Research Analysts Network noted that 34 S&P 100 companies (34%) produce an ESG report in compliance with GRI guidelines.
Survey findings include the following:
• 94% of the CEE companies surveyed have an English-language website on the record date of September 15, 2006 compared with 87% in April 2006, 89% in September 2005 and 81% in April 2005. In contrast, 100% of the surveyed companies in BRIC and 50% of the Ukrainian companies surveyed have an English-language website.
• 71% of the CEE companies surveyed have an English-language 2005 annual report available online on the record date of September 15, 2006 compared with 78% on September 15, 2005 and 65% on August 15, 2004.
• Nine Slovene, eight Polish, six Czech and six Hungarian companies disclose implementation of a corporate governance code in their annual report.
• 75% of the CEE companies surveyed disclose information on their governance structure in the company's annual report, compared with 62% in April 2006 and 68% in September 2005. 45% of the BRIC companies surveyed and 20% of the Ukrainian companies surveyed provide this information.
• 64% of the CEE companies surveyed disclose employee benefits or development policies in the (2003, 2004 or 2005) annual report currently available online, compared with 42% in April 2006, 48% in September 2005, 37% in April 2005 and 42% in August 2004
• 45% of the CEE companies surveyed disclose information on compliance with environmental standards on their website, compared with 37% in April 2006, 48% in September 2005, 41% in April 2005 and 37% in August 2004.
• 25% of the CEE companies surveyed report on environmental performance in their annual report, compared with 48% of the BRIC companies surveyed.
Note: The survey consists of the following documents: a report of the survey findings presenting data aggregated by country; a database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in each of the 11 CEE countries; and a separate database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in BRIC and Ukraine.
To download the survey and the background databases, please click on the links below:
Thursday, September 21, 2006 - Friday, September 22, 2006
IIRF Annual Conference – Attracting Capital to Growth Markets and Companies
Warsaw, Poland
On Thursday, September 21 and Friday, September 22, 2006 the International Investor Relations Federation (IIRF) held its annual conference in Warsaw, Poland. The title of this year’s conference was, “Attracting Capital to Growth Markets and Companies.” The event marked the first time that the IIRF held its annual conference outside one of the major financial centers in Western Europe and North America.
The conference program included more than 40 moderators/speakers representing Poland and other European emerging markets as well as other countries worldwide. More than 150 delegates from a wide range of European and other countries participated in the conference. Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program presented PFS Program surveys in a breakout session entitled, “Reaching Investors.“
Please click on the following hyperlink to visit the conference website, where you will find the program, information on speakers and sponsors as well as each presentation: IIRF Conference – Warsaw – 2006.
Friday, September 8, 2006
PFS Program’s Eleventh Regional Survey - Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the PFS Program publishes its eleventh semi-annual survey of online investor relations of the ten largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in eleven Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. PFS Program Interns Harald Lang and Sergei Leonov as well as PFS Program Research Assistant Michal Slawinski conducted the survey from June through August 2006.
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE analyzes the websites of the ten largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia for the tenth time and in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania for the fifth time. The survey provides current data as of August 15, 2006 and comparisons with the ten previous surveys, published in February 2006, August 2005, February 2005, August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001. Moreover, the survey includes for the first time an analysis of the websites of the ten largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as well as Ukraine.
Overall, online disclosure by CEE listed companies increased since the last survey. In all categories surveyed but two, disclosure remained at or reached the highest level recorded since the survey was first conducted in August 2001. This suggests that the high levels of disclosure in most categories are sustainable. Only in two categories were declines observed; however, one of these was insignificant (1%). Improvement remains to be made in online disclosure of additional information about management and board members.
Survey results include the following:
• All of the CEE companies surveyed have a local-language website. This is the second consecutive time since the first survey was conducted in August 2001 that all CEE companies surveyed have a local-language website.
• 93% of the CEE companies surveyed have an English website compared with 94% in February 2006.
• 86% of the CEE companies surveyed provide a list of management online; this is the highest percentage recorded since the first survey. 81% of companies provided this information in February 2006 compared with 78% in August 2005. 45% of companies provide additional information on management online, the same percentage as in February 2006.
• 81% of the CEE companies surveyed provide a list of board members online; this is also the highest percentage recorded since the first survey. 75% of companies provided this information in February 2006 compared with 69% in August 2005. 37% of companies provide additional information on board members online, compared with 41% in February 2006 and 29% in August 2005.
• Not surprisingly, when analyzed separately the eight new Member States of the European Union outperform the eleven CEE countries (eight new EU Member States plus Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania) in all categories surveyed. Nevertheless, online disclosure also improved in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania since the last survey.
The PFS Program surveys analyze the websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned eleven CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the ongoing surveys represent a snapshot of this peer group’s disclosure practices on a given day twice a year and thereby provide insights into blue-chip companies’ corporate governance and investor relations practices. The surveys enable companies to benchmark their disclosure practices against peers on a national, industry and regional basis.
This first-time survey of the largest listed companies in BRIC and Ukraine also allows the CEE companies to benchmark against peers in other emerging markets. On average, the largest listed companies in the BRIC countries equal or outperform their CEE peers in every category, although in several categories the difference is minimal. Comparative survey findings include the following:
• All of the companies surveyed in BRIC and in the eleven CEE countries have a local-language website, whereas in Ukraine nine out of ten companies have a local-language website.
• 100% of the companies surveyed in BRIC, 93% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries and 40% of the companies surveyed in Ukraine have an English-language website.
• 87% of companies surveyed in BRIC, 86% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries and 30% of the companies surveyed in Ukraine provide a list of management online.
• 73% of the companies surveyed in BRIC, 46% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries and 10% of the companies surveyed in Ukraine provide additional information on management online.
• 90% of the companies surveyed in BRIC, 81% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries and 20% of the companies surveyed in Ukraine provide a list of board members online.
• 60% of the companies surveyed in BRIC, 37% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries and 10% of the companies surveyed in Ukraine provide additional information on board members online.
Note: The survey, consisting of databases of results by company and a presentation of the results by country, contains the following information: current data as of August 15, 2006 on companies in all eleven CEE countries; comparisons of the data from August 2006 with data from the ten previous surveys conducted in February 2006, August 2005, February 2005, August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001; and separate data as of August 15, 2006 on companies in BRIC and Ukraine.
To download the survey and the background databases, please click on the links below:
Friday, May 5, 2006
PFS Program’s Sixth Semi-Annual Regional Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program publishes its sixth semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries. Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia were surveyed for the sixth time; companies in Hungary and Poland were surveyed for the fifth time; and companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania were surveyed for the fourth time.
Moreover, an analysis of CSR disclosures by the ten largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in Portugal and Spain is included in the survey for the first time.
PFS Program interns Pawel Dziedzic, Ewa Haratym, Anita Keringer and Anna Pogorzelska conducted the survey from March 1 through May 4, 2006.
PFS Program surveys analyze the annual reports and websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned 11 CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the semi-annual surveys of reporting on CSR represent a snapshot of this peer group’s CSR disclosure practices on a given day twice a year. Furthermore, by analyzing disclosures in both annual reports and websites, the surveys track the timing of the publication of the annual report and the related yet separate issue of periodic disclosure, namely, how blue-chip companies keep their websites data-rich and up-to-date.
This survey analyzes companies’ disclosures in English (in the English-language annual report and on the English-language company website) during the time period March – April 2005 on the following three topics: corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. The record date for the disclosures is April 15, 2006.
In the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia all 10 of the companies surveyed have an English-language website. In Hungary and Lithuania, nine of the 10 companies have an English-language website. In general, companies in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia disclose the most information online.
This sixth semi-annual survey notes a generally similar level of disclosure on company websites to that observed during the past three years across all three information categories analyzed – corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. In general, companies provide more information on corporate governance than on environmental policy or social policy. Also, corporate governance codes continue to significantly impact reporting on corporate governance issues in certain countries. One trend can be observed. Several companies now issue separate/stand-alone reports on environmental, social and/or governance (ESG) issues. Of the 110 CEE companies surveyed, 15 have English-language ESG reports available on their websites as of April 15, 2006. In contrast, eight Spanish companies and seven Portuguese companies have ESG reports.
Survey findings include the following:
• 87% of the companies surveyed have an English-language website, compared with 89% in September 2005, 83% in April 2005 and 84% in August 2004.
• 69% of the companies surveyed disclose information about their governance structure on their website, compared with 79% in September 2005, 71% in April 2005 and 69% in August 2004).
• Seven Slovene companies disclose implementation of a corporate governance code in the annual report, compared with one in April 2005. Six Czech companies, six Polish companies and five Hungarian companies now disclose implementation of a corporate governance code in the annual report.
• Nine Polish companies, six Hungarian companies, four Czech companies and four Slovene companies report on implementation of a corporate governance code on the company website.
• 28 companies (25%) now disclose compliance with a corporate governance code on their website, compared with 20 companies (18%) in September 2005 and 19 companies (17%) in April 2005.
• 37% of the companies surveyed mention compliance with environmental standards on their website, compared with 48% in September 2005, 41% in April 2005 and 37% in August 2004.
• 37% of the companies surveyed disclose community, patronage and/or sponsorship programs in the (2003, 2004 or 2005) annual reports currently available online, compared with 36% in September 2005, 28% in April 2005 and 30% in August 2004.
• 37% of the companies surveyed disclose community, patronage and/or sponsorship programs on their website, compared with 47% in September 2005, 37% in April 2005 and 32% in August 2004.
Comparisons of disclosures in annual reports is not as relevant in the spring edition of the semi-annual survey, since as of April 15, 2006 many companies have not yet published their 2005 annual report online. However, it should be noted that Estonia is the clear exception in the region. By April 15, 2006 nine of the 10 Estonian companies surveyed had published an English-language version of their annual report online. However, it should be noted that in many cases the annual report is only available on the website of the Tallinn Stock Exchange. Nevertheless, in each of the five previous surveys, all 10 Estonian companies provided electronic versions of their annual report online and in this survey nine of the 10 Estonian companies did so. This was not the case in any of the other 10 countries.
The PFS Program’s seventh regional survey, to be conducted in September 2006, will compare in greater detail disclosure in annual reports with disclosures made in September 2005. It will also continue analyze reporting on company websites and compare the results with the previous surveys. For the second time, the survey will track the number of CEE countries that publish stand-alone ESG reports in English.
The September 2006 edition of the survey will include a first-time comparison with the largest listed companies in the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – with the aim of comparing CEE listed companies’ reporting with that of peers in other emerging markets.
Note: The survey consists of the following documents: a presentation of data aggregated by country; a database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in each of the 11 CEE countries; and a separate database of individual data by company for the ten largest listed companies in Portugal and Spain.
To download the survey and the background databases, please click on the links below:
Thursday, March 2, 2006
PFS Program’s Tenth Regional Survey - Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the PFS Program publishes its tenth semi-annual survey of online investor relations of the ten largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in eleven Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. PFS Program intern Pawel Dziedzic conducted the survey in February 2006.
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE analyzes the websites of the ten largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in Czech Republic Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia for the tenth time and in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania for the fourth time. The survey provides current data as of February 15, 2006 and comparisons with the nine previous surveys, published in August 2005, February 2005, August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001. Moreover, the survey includes for the first time an analysis of the websites of the ten largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in Portugal and Spain.
The survey demonstrates that online disclosure by CEE listed companies has improved since the last survey, conducted in August 2005. In particular, the number of companies with local-language and English-language websites has increased to the highest levels recorded since the PFS Program launched its surveys in August 2001. In February 2006, all of the companies surveyed have a local-language website. This is the first time since August 2001 that the PFS Program has observed existence of a local-language website at each of the companies surveyed. Also, the number of companies that provide additional information on supervisory board members (which is traditionally the category with the poorest survey results) increased significantly.
Survey results include the following:
• In February 2006, all of the CEE companies surveyed have a local-language website. As noted above, this is the first time that all CEE companies surveyed have a local-language website since the first survey was conducted in August 2001. In August 2005, 97% of the companies surveyed had a local-language website.
• In February 2006, 94% of the CEE companies surveyed have an English-language website. This is also the highest percentage recorded since the first survey. In August 2005, 87% of the companies surveyed had an English-language website. . Now, in one country, seven of the ten companies surveyed have an English-language website; in four countries, nine of the ten companies surveyed have an English-language website; and in six countries, all ten companies have an English-language website. This represents an improvement since the last survey. In August 2005, in two countries, seven of the ten companies surveyed had an English-language website; in two countries, eight of the ten companies surveyed had an English-language website; in four countries, nine of the ten companies surveyed had an English-language website; and in three countries, all ten companies surveyed had and English-language website.
The PFS Program surveys analyze the websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned eleven CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the ongoing surveys represent a snapshot of this peer group’s disclosure practices on a given day twice a year and thereby provide insights into blue-chip companies’ corporate governance and investor relations practices.
A comparison of the results of the tenth survey of the largest listed companies in eleven CEE countries and the first survey of peers in Portugal and Spain includes the following:
• All of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries and in Portugal and Spain have a local-language website;
• 94% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries (and 97.5% of the companies surveyed in the eight new member states of the European Union [EU]) have an English-language website, compared with 90% in Portugal and 100% in Spain;
• 81% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries provide a list of management online compared with 90% in Portugal and 100% in Spain;
• 46% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries provide additional information on management online compared with 90% in Portugal and 100% in Spain;
• 76% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries provide a list of board members online compared with 90% in Portugal and 100% in Spain; and
• 41% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries provide additional information on board members online compared with 90% in Portugal and 100% in Spain.
The first-time survey of Portugal and Spain enables the comparison of the disclosure practices of the CEE blue-chip peer group with peers in the EU.
Note: The survey, consisting of databases of results by company and a presentation of the results by country, contains the following information: current data as of February 15, 2006 on companies in all eleven CEE countries; comparisons of the data from February 2006 with data from the previous surveys conducted in August 2005, February 2005, August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001; and separate data as of February 15, 2006 on companies in Portugal and Spain.
To download the survey and the background databases, please click on the links below:
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Presentation – Reporting on Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by Listed Companies in Poland and other Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries
Warsaw, Poland
On Thursday, February 16, 2006 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a presentation on reporting on corporate governance and CSR by listed companies in Poland and other CEE countries to faculty and students of the Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management in Warsaw, Poland. The presentation took place at the Academy.
The group engaged in a discussion of the corporate governance case study and data from the PFS Program’s regional surveys of reporting on CSR by listed companies in CEE.
To download the presentations, please click on the links below:
Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Study Visit to Warsaw, Poland for Representatives of South East European Bank Associations / Bank Training Institutes
Warsaw, Poland
On February 14-15, 2006 the PFS Program, the Warsaw Institute of Banking and The Gdansk Academy of Banking organized a Study Visit to Warsaw, Poland for Representatives of South East European (SEE) Bank Associations / Bank Training Institutes.
Representatives of the following institutions participated in the Study Visit: Association of Montenegrin Banks; Association of Serbian Banks; Kosovo Bankers’ Association; and the National Bank of Serbia.
During the Study Visit, representatives of the above-mentioned SEE institutions met representatives of the Warsaw Institute of Banking on February 14 and The Gdansk Academy of Banking on February 15, 2006.
The purpose of the Study Visit was two-fold:
1. Each of the two Polish institutions shared with colleagues from SEE institutions their respective experience/expertise in: establishing a self sustaining bank training institute; designing and conducting training for bankers; participating in European Union (EU) and international banking networks; and cooperating with foreign partners on specific projects.
2. The representatives of the SEE institutions had the opportunity to: (a) ask questions regarding the experience of the two Polish counterparts; and (b) brainstorm with the two Polish counterparts and other SEE institutions about potential future joint activities.
The Study Visit also facilitated informal discussions and an exchange of ideas among the SEE institutions for effective ways to cooperate.
Based on the interest and needs of the participating SEE institutions, a possible outcome of the Study Visit could be the submission of one or more joint SEE/Polish applications for a PFS Program Grant to co-finance institutional development, research and/or training.
Friday, December 9, 2005 - Sunday, December 11, 2005
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Gdansk, Poland
From December 9-11, 2005 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a series of lectures on corporate governance as part of the Course on American Law organized by the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdansk and Chicago-Kent College of Law.
29 Polish students/recent graduates and one student from the Graduate School of Economics and Business, Zagreb University, Zagreb, Croatia attended the course. During the three days, participants were introduced to the following topics: corporate governance models (Anglo-US, German, Japanese and Polish); disclosure regimes; the legal and self-regulatory framework for corporate governance; and trends in non-financial reporting by listed companies (reporting on corporate governance and reporting on corporate social responsibility [CSR]). Participants discussed practical and theoretical aspects of corporate governance in several jurisdictions by analyzing a number of case studies about real companies.
To download the materials presented at the lectures, please click on the links below:
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Conference: “Trends in Corporate Governance: The American and Polish Perspective”
Warsaw, Poland
On Wednesday, October 19, 2005 the Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management and Yale School of Management organized a conference in Warsaw, Poland entitled, “Trends in Corporate Governance: The American and Polish Perspective.” The one-day conference brought together leading academics and professionals (including board members, institutional investors, policy makers and representatives of stock exchanges) to discuss the policy implications of the recent research on corporate governance in Poland and in the United States.
The PFS Program co-sponsored the participation of representatives of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the New Securities Exchange (NEX) Montenegro and the Varazdin Stock Exchange in the conference.
The conference was a joint project of the Center for Management Studies and TIGER ( Transformation, Integration and Globalization Economic Research), both part of the Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management, and the International Institute of Corporate Governance, Yale School of Management.
For more information about the conference, please visit the following page of the TIGER website: http://www.tiger.edu.pl/english/konferencje/main.htm
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
PFS Program’s Fifth Semi-Annual Regional Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program publishes its fifth semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries. Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia were surveyed for the fifth time; companies in Hungary and Poland were surveyed for the fourth time; and companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania were surveyed for the third time.
Moreover, in response to a request from the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges, an analysis of CSR disclosures by the ten largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in Greece and Turkey is included in the survey for the first time.
PFS Program interns Joanna Karnat, Janis Oskajs and Tomasz Zych conducted the survey from July through September 2005.
PFS Program surveys analyze the annual reports and websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned 11 CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the semi-annual surveys of reporting on CSR represent a snapshot of this peer group’s CSR disclosure practices on a given day twice a year. Furthermore, by analyzing disclosures in both annual reports and websites, the surveys track the timing of the publication of the annual report and the related yet separate issue of periodic disclosure, namely, how blue-chip companies keep their websites data-rich and up-to-date.
This survey analyzes companies’ disclosures in English (in the English-language annual report and on the English-language company website) during the time period July - September 2005 on the following three topics: corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. The record date for the disclosures is September 15, 2005.
This survey demonstrates a general increase in the amount of information disclosed in the English-language on a range of issues since the last surveys, conducted in April 2005 and August 2004. In several areas, no significant change was observed; only in a few areas was a slight decrease in the amount of information disclosed observed.
In Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia all ten of the companies surveyed have an English-language website; however, companies in Latvia and Lithuania generally do not disclose information on all three topics surveyed. In Hungary, nine of the ten companies have an English-language website. In general, companies in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia are the leaders in disclosing CSR information among the 11 CEE countries surveyed. The level of disclosure among companies in the three non-European Union (EU) member countries (Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania) increased slightly or remained unchanged since the last survey conducted in April 2005.
Survey findings include the following:
· 89% of the companies surveyed have an English-language website (compared with 83% in April 2005 and 84% in August 2004);
· 78% of the companies surveyed have an English-language annual report (compared with 65% in August 2004);
· 79% of the companies surveyed disclose information about their governance structure on their website (compared with 71% in April 2005 and 69% in August 2004);
· 68% of the companies surveyed disclose information about their governance structure in their annual report (compared with 52% in August 2004);
· 48% of the companies surveyed disclose information about their shareholder rights policy on their website (compared with 35% in April 2005 and 46% in August 2004);
· 41% of the companies surveyed disclose information about their shareholder rights policy in their annual report (compared with 44% in August 2004);
· 48% of the companies surveyed mention compliance with environmental standards on their website (compared with 41% in April 2005 and 37% in August 2004);
· 27% of the companies surveyed mention compliance with environmental standards in their annual report (compared with 28% in August 2004);
· 42% of the companies surveyed disclose employee development/benefit policies on their website (compared with 36% in April 2005 and 28% in August 2004); and
· 48% of the companies surveyed disclose employee development/benefit policies in their annual report (compared with 42% in August 2004).
Note: The survey consists of a presentation of data aggregated by country and two separate databases of individual data by company - one database for the ten largest listed companies in each of the 11 CEE countries and a separate database for the ten largest listed companies in Greece as well as Turkey.
To download the survey and the background databases, please click on the links below:
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
PFS Program’s Ninth Regional Survey - Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries
Today, the PFS Program publishes its ninth semi-annual survey of online investor relations of the ten largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in eleven Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. PFS Program interns Joanna Karnat and Tomasz Zych conducted the survey in July and August 2005.
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE analyses the websites of the ten largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in Czech Republic Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia for the ninth time and in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania for the third time. The survey provides current data as of August 15, 2005 and comparisons with the eight previous surveys, published in February 2005, August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001. Moreover, in response to a request from the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges, a first survey of websites of the ten largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in Greece and Turkey is also published.
The survey demonstrates that online disclosure in CEE has improved since the last survey, conducted in February 2005. In particular, the number of companies with local-language and English-language websites has increased to the highest levels recorded since the PFS Program began its surveys in August 2001.
Survey results include the following:
· In August 2005, 97% of the CEE companies surveyed have a local-language website. This is the highest percentage recorded since the first survey, conducted in August 2001. In February 2005, 95% of the companies surveyed had a local-language website.
· In August 2005, 87% of the CEE companies surveyed have an English-language website. This is also the highest percentage recorded since the first survey. In February 2005, 82% of the companies surveyed had an English-language website. Furthermore, there has been improvement in the underperformers; now, in each of the 11 countries at least 7 of the 10 companies surveyed have an English-language website. In February 2005, in two countries only 6 of the 10 companies surveyed had an English-language website.
The PFS Program surveys analyze the websites of the ten largest listed companies in the above-mentioned eleven CEE countries in order to document the current disclosure practices of this “blue-chip” peer group and identify best practice among the peer group. Whereas the universe of companies surveyed may change over time due to changes in a company’s market capitalization, the ongoing surveys represent a snapshot of this peer group’s disclosure practices on a given day twice a year and thereby provide insights into blue-chip companies’ corporate governance and investor relations practices.
A comparison of the results of the ninth survey of the eleven CEE countries and the first survey of Greece and Turkey includes the following:
· 97% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries have a local-language website compared with 90% in Greece and 90% in Turkey;
· 87% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries have an English-language website compared with 90% in Greece and 90% in Turkey;
· 78% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries provide a list of management online compared with 70% in Greece and 70% in Turkey;
· 40% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries provide additional information on management online compared with 50% in Greece and 50% in Turkey;
· 69% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries provide a list of board members online compared with 90% in Greece and 80% in Turkey; and
· 29% of the companies surveyed in the eleven CEE countries provide additional information on board members online compared with 60% in Greece and 50% in Turkey.
The first-time survey of Greece and Turkey enables the comparison of the disclosure practices of the CEE blue-chip peer group with peers in neighboring countries, one an EU member state and the other a neighboring emerging market.
Note: The survey, consisting of databases of results by company and a presentation of the results by country, contains the following information: current data on companies in all eleven CEE countries; separate data on companies in the Eight New Member States of the European Union (EU); separate data on companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania; comparisons of the data from August 2005 with data from the previous surveys conducted in February 2005, August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001; and separate data on companies in Greece and Turkey.
To download the survey and the background databases, please click on the links below:
Monday, July 18, 2005 - Friday, July 22, 2005
16TH Warsaw Actuarial Summer School
Warsaw, Poland
From July 18-22, 2005 the 16TH Warsaw Actuarial Summer School took place at the Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw. The Summer School is a joint venture of the Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw and the Polish Society of Actuaries. This year’s Summer School was the 16th edition of the Summer School, which since 2003 has focused on continuing education of actuaries who have already completed basic academic training in actuarial science. The program included two lectures: statistical methods of data mining; and hedging of life insurance and pension guarantees.
58 participants attended this year’s Summer School, including seven participants from Albania, Latvia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. The PFS Program financed the tuition costs of actuaries from public sector institutions in Albania, Montenegro and Serbia.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 - Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Study Visit for Insurance Regulators from Bulgaria and Serbia to the Polish Supervisory Commission for Insurance and Pension Funds
Warsaw, Poland
On June 28-29, 2005 the PFS Program organized a study visit to the Polish Supervisory Commission for Insurance and Pension Funds (KNUiFE) for insurance regulators from Bulgaria and Serbia. Two insurance regulators from the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission and three regulators from the National Bank of Serbia, Insurance Supervision Department participated in the study visit.
Prior to the study visit, the regulators from Bulgaria and Serbia submitted to the PFS Program a list of questions and an impact statement regarding the expected consequences of the study visit. The PFS Program forwarded these documents to KNUiFE in order for it to prepare for the study visit.
Over the course of two days, the colleagues from Bulgaria and Serbia met with a total of more than 20 insurance regulators from the following departments of KNUiFE: Commission Bureau; Communication and European Integration Department (Consumer Protection Unit); Information Systems and Supervision Standards Department; Legal-Authorization Department; Life Insurance Supervision Department; Non-Life Insurance Supervision Department; Intermediaries Supervision Department; and Pension Funds Supervision Department.
The Polish regulators prepared a number of tailor-made presentations for the visit. In addition, in order to answer questions raised by the Bulgarian and Serbian colleagues, they directed them to documents available on the KNUiFE website.
Impact: The study visit was organized in response to specific requests from the Bulgarian and Serbian insurance regulators. During the May 2004 PFS Program financial sector assessment visit to Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission requested that the PFS Program organize secondments for its staff to financial sector regulatory and supervisory authorities in the new member states of the European Union (EU). During the February 2005 PFS Program financial sector assessment visit to Serbia, the National Bank of Serbia, Insurance Supervision Department requested that the PFS Program organize a study visit to Poland to learn from the Polish experience in insurance regulation/supervision.
The study visit enabled the insurance regulators from Bulgaria and Serbia to analyze the Polish experience in insurance regulation and supervision. It also provided a first hand understanding of how KNUiFE implemented EU directives, best practice and international standards (for example, those proposed by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors [IAIS].) Furthermore, the study visit promoted the exchange of experiences, information and strategies between the Bulgarian and Serbian colleagues.
As a follow-up to the study visit, the PFS Program provided the insurance regulators from Bulgaria and Serbia with information on the Warsaw Actuarial Summer School.
Friday, June 10, 2005 - Sunday, June 12, 2005
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Gdansk, Poland
From June 10-12, 2005 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a series of lectures on corporate governance as part of the Course on American Law organized by the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdansk.
In the first lecture, Mr. Mazullo presented the most recent research conducted and co-financed by the PFS Program on reporting on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) by listed companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Each of the remaining lectures consisted of a case study regarding a particular corporate governance or CSR issue. The case studies discussed concern companies listed and/or operating in Cambodia, China, Columbia, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
To download the materials presented at the lectures, please click on the links below:
| Agenda - Lectures on Corporate Governance - June 10-12, 2005.doc - 24 KB |
| Session 1A - June 10, 2005.ppt - 1,336 KB |
| Session 2 - June 10, 2005.ppt - 630 KB |
| Session 3 - June 11, 2005.ppt - 521 KB |
| Session 4 - June 11, 2005.ppt - 720 KB |
| Session 5 - June 11, 2005.ppt - 550 KB |
| Session 6 - June 12, 2005.ppt - 550 KB |
| Session 7 - June 12, 2005.ppt - 608 KB |
| Session 8 - June 12, 2005.ppt - 1,059 KB |
Thursday, June 9, 2005
Lecture: “Corporate Governance in Poland – An American Perspective”
Warsaw, Poland
On June 9, 2005 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a lecture entitled, “Corporate Governance in Poland – An American Perspective” at the Embassy of the United States of America in Warsaw, Poland. The lecture was part of the Embassy’s America Presents program.
An audience of some 50 persons attended the lecture, including: members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland; representatives of institutions active/interested in Polish capital markets/corporate governance issues; representatives of Polish academic institutions; and staff of the Embassy.
At the outset of the lecture, Mr. Mazullo examined theoretical elements of the Anglo-American, German, Japanese and Polish corporate governance models. Thereafter, he presented data from a wide range of sources regarding the value of corporate governance information to investors/shareholders. At the end of the lecture, he presented the PFS Program’s most recent surveys, thereby comparing the disclosure practices of Polish listed companies with their peers in 10 other Central and Eastern European (EE) countries. Following the lecture, the audience engaged in a lively discussion of corporate governance issues and practices in Poland and other CEE countries as well as in the United States.
To download the presentation, please click on the link below:
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Fourth Semi-Annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Central and Eastern Europe
Budapest, Hungary
Today, the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program publishes its fourth semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the 10 Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in eleven Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia were surveyed for the fourth time; companies in Hungary and Poland were surveyed for the third time; and companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania were surveyed for the second time.
The survey was conducted by PFS Program interns Szymon Gawel, Monika Sowinska and Dominika Sipowicz.
The survey analyzes companies’ disclosures in English on the English-language company website and in the English-language annual report during April 2005. It documents a generally similar level of disclosure on company websites to that observed in August 2004 across all three information categories analyzed – corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy. However, in certain countries, availability of English-language websites has increased. Also, corporate governance codes significantly impact reporting on corporate governance issues in certain countries.
In Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia all 10 of the companies surveyed have an English-language website; however, companies in Latvia and Lithuania generally did not disclose information on all three categories surveyed. In Hungary, nine of the 10 companies have an English-language website. In general, companies in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia disclosed the most information online. The level of disclosure decreased in Bulgaria and Romania, perhaps due to the fact that due to changes in market capitalization the universe of companies surveyed changed significantly. Approximately half of the companies in each country were surveyed for the first time. By contrast, the level of disclosure improved in Croatia.
Survey findings include the following:
· 83% of the companies surveyed have an English language website (compared with 86% in August 2004 and 85% in April 2003);
· 71% of the companies surveyed disclose information about their governance structure on their websites (compared with 69% in August 2004 and 50% in April 2004);
· 41% of the companies surveyed mention compliance with environmental standards on their websites (compared with 37% in August 2004 and 28% in April 2004);
· 37% of the companies surveyed disclose information about sponsorships on their websites (compared with 28% in August 2004 and 31% in April 2004); and
· 20% of the companies surveyed note compliance with a corporate governance code on their websites (whereas in August 2004 the percentage was 7%).
Comparisons with disclosure in annual reports is not as relevant in this survey, since as of April 15, 2005 many companies have not yet published their 2004 annual report online. However, it should be noted that Estonia is the clear exception in the region. By April 15, 2005 each of the 10 Estonian companies surveyed had published an English-language version of their annual report online. However, it should be noted that in many cases the annual report is only available on the website of the Tallinn Stock Exchange. Nevertheless, in each of the four surveys to date, all 10 Estonian companies provided electronic versions of their annual report online. This was not the case in any of the other 10 countries.
The fifth survey, to be published in August 2005, will compare disclosure in annual reports with disclosures made in August 2004. It will also continue to track trends in reporting on company websites.
To download the background database and the survey, please click on the links below:
Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE
PFS Program Intern Szymon Gawel conducted the PFS Program’s eighth semi-annual survey of online investor relations of the 10 largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. In addition to Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia this survey includes Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania for the second time.
The survey demonstrates slightly improved online disclosure by the largest listed companies in the eight new member states of the European Union (EU) and slightly poorer yet generally stable second time survey results in the three EU-accession countries.
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE analyses the websites of the ten largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in each of the following CEE countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. The survey provides current data as of February 21, 2005 and comparisons with the seven previous surveys, published in August 2004, February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001.
As in the most recent survey, the percentage of companies with a local-language website remains at 95%. In August 2004, 95% of the companies surveyed had a website.
In February 2005, 82% of the companies surveyed have an English-language website, in comparison with 84% in August 2004.
When taken as a group of eleven countries, the results in all categories surveyed remained relatively stable. However, when analyzing the eight new member states of the European Union (EU) separately, a slightly improved disclosure policy can be observed.
Survey findings of the eight new member states of the EU include the following:
97% of the companies surveyed have a local language website (compared with 95% in August 2004);
87% have an English-language website (compared with 84% in August 2004);
80% provide a list of management online (compared with 84% in August 2004);
43% provide additional information on management online (compared with 38% in August 2004);
70% provide a list of board members online (compared with 70% in August 2004); and
29% provide additional information on board members online (compared with 23% in August 2004).
Three of the 110 companies surveyed provide information about the number of shares owned by each member of management and the supervisory board.
The findings of this second survey of companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania show a slight decease in online disclosure in comparison with August 2004; however, in general the thresholds are rather stable.
The PFS Program hopes that the surveys represent an ongoing contribution towards independent research in these eleven CEE countries. A research paper produced by the working group Independent Research Think Tank and published on February 11, 2005 called for more independent research in the EU. George Möller, chief executive of Robeco, and leader of the working group, opines, “Independent research is an important element in the maintenance of integrity in the marketplace, as it offers investors a neutral analysis of a company’s prospects.”
To download the survey and the background database, please click on the links below:
Friday, January 14, 2005 - Sunday, January 16, 2005
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Gdansk, Poland
From January 14-16, 2005 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave a series of lectures on corporate governance as part of the Course on American Law organized by the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdansk.
To download the materials presented at the lectures, please click on the links below:
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Warsaw, Poland
On Tuesday, November 30, 2004 Mr. Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program, gave two lectures to students in Warsaw, Poland. The lectures were made possible by a travel grant from the US Department of State.
In the morning, Mr. Mazullo gave a lecture entitled, “Reporting on Corporate Governance by Listed Companies in Central and Eastern Europe” to international and Polish students of the School of Management of Warsaw University.
In the afternoon, Mr. Mazullo gave a lecture entitled, “Corporate Governance in Developed Capital Markets and Transition Economies” to Polish students of the Warsaw School of Economics. The lecture was organized by the Youth Forum of the Confederation of Private Employers Leviatan. An article about the lecture appeared on the website of the Youth Forum. Please click on the following link to read the article, in Polish: Corporate Governance on the Border of Business and Politics – Polish.
The lectures were condensed from materials that Mr. Mazullo will present at a weekend course at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdansk, Poland in January 2005. The materials will be published on the PFS Program website.
Monday, November 29, 2004
Corporate Governance and Capital Market Regulation in the European Union (EU) – Implications for Poland
Warsaw, Poland
On Monday, November 29, 2004 the Polish Corporate Governance Forum held a conference in Warsaw, Poland entitled, “Corporate Governance and Capital Market Regulation in the European Union (EU) – Implications for Poland.”
Mr. Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program, participated in a panel discussion entitled, “How to Improve Corporate Governance in Poland and the EU.” Mr. Mazullo’s participation was made possible by a travel grant from the US Department of State.
To obtain the conference materials published on the website of the Polish Corporate Governance Forum, please click on the link below:
PCGF – Conference – November 29, 2004 – Polish
PCGF – Conference – November 29, 2004 - English
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Third Semi-Annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Central and Eastern Europe
Budapest, Hungary
Today, the PFS Program publishes its third semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the 10 Largest Listed Companies (by Market Capitalization) in Central and Eastern Europe. Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia were surveyed for the third time. Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania were included in the survey for the first time. The survey was conducted by PFS Program Interns Marek Korycki, Izabela Samson, Zuzana Schwartzova and Adam Szymasiuk.
The survey provides current data concerning companies’ disclosures on a range of CSR issues in annual reports and on websites as of August 15, 2004. For the companies from the eight new member states of the European Union (EU), comparative data from the previous surveys conducted in April 2004 and August 2003 is presented
In general, disclosures on CSR issues were similar to those observed in the survey conducted in April 2004. However, the survey demonstrates improvement in the quality and quantity of disclosures about corporate governance issues. As noted in the survey conducted in spring 2004, EU accession and adoption of corporate governance codes in several countries in 2003/2004 are two factors influencing broader and deeper reporting.
Survey findings include the following:
· 86% of the companies surveyed have an English language website (compared with 85% in April 2004 and 85% in August 2003);
· 74% of the companies surveyed provide an electronic version of the English-language annual report for 2003 (compared with 76% of the companies who provided a 2002 or 2003 annual report in April 2004);
· 99% of the companies surveyed disclose information about their governance structure in their annual report (compared with 59% in April 2004 and 40% in August 2003);
· 35% of the companies surveyed note compliance with environmental standards in their annual report (the same percentage as in April 2004 whereas in Augsut 2003 the percentage was 19%); and
· 51% of the companies surveyed mention employee development or benefits policy in their annual report (compared with 49% in April 2004 and 34% in August 2003).
In terms of disclosures made on company websites, other comparative findings include the following:
· In August 2004, 53% of the companies surveyed disclosed information about their shareholder rights policy; in April 2004, 51% of companies disclosed this information; and in August 2003, 14% of companies disclosed this information.
· In August 2004, 31% of the companies surveyed provided information about their environmental performance; in April 2004, 28% of companies provided this information; and in August 2003, 14% of companies surveyed provided this information;
· In August 2004, 17% of companies provided information about compliance with labor standards; in April 2004, 21% of companies provided this information; and in August 2004 only 3% of companies provided this information.
The first time results for Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania are positive; whereas few companies disclose complete information in English on all three information categories surveyed, at least one company from each country disclosed information on each of the five questions in each of the three categories. This demonstrates an awareness of these issues in each country.
To download the survey and the background databases, please click on the links below:
Wednesday, May 5, 2004
Second Semi-Annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Central and Eastern Europe
Budapest, Hungary
Today, the PFS Program publishes its second semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the 10 Largest Listed Companies (by Market Capitalization) in Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The survey was conducted by PFS Program Interns Katarzyna Hanula and Marek Korycki.
The survey provides current data concerning companies’ disclosures on a range of CSR issues as of April 15, 2004 and a comparison with the previous survey conducted in August 2003. Comparative data from the previous year is not available for Hungarian and Polish companies, since the surveys conducted in those countries in 2003 analyzed information provided in Hungarian and Polish respectively. Additionally this survey analyzes disclosures related to corporate governance codes in those countries with such a code, i.e. Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The survey conducted in 2003 did not analyze such disclosures, because a corporate governance code either did not yet exist or had only recently been issued in the respective country.
The survey demonstrates that disclosures on CSR issues increased significantly over the past six months. Survey findings include the following:
-85% of the companies surveyed have an English language website;
-76% of the companies surveyed provide an English-language annual report for 2002 or 2003;
-59% of the companies surveyed mention employee development or benefits policy;
-51% of the companies surveyed note compliance with environmental standards; and
-20% of the companies surveyed disclose information regarding compliance with a Corporate Governance Code.
Comparative findings include the following:
-In April 2004, 40% of the companies surveyed disclosed information regarding the environmental impact of their operations; in August 2003, only 22% of companies surveyed provided this information.
-In April 2004, 36% of the companies surveyed provided audit-related information on their website; in August 2003 only 13% of companies surveyed provided this information;
Two significant factors influenced the improved results observed in this survey. First, several stock exchanges implemented corporate governance codes in 2003 and 2004. These codes provide an additional impetus/pressure to disclose a variety of data. Second, Hungary and Poland are covered by this regional survey for the first time and the above-average disclosures of Hungarian and Polish companies improved the general (regional) averages. For example, excluding Hungary and Poland, the above-mentioned averages decline to 30% (environmental impact) and 35% (audit-related information) respectively. Nevertheless, even without including these countries, a marked improvement can be observed.
The PFS Program will continue to analyze this issue; we will conduct a third semi-annual Survey in August 2004.
To download the background database and a presentation of the survey results, please click on the links below:
Saturday, April 17, 2004 - Sunday, April 18, 2004
Lectures on Corporate Governance
Gdansk, Poland
On April 17-18, 2004 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program gave two lectures on corporate governance as part of the Course on American Law organized by the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdansk.
To download the materials presented at the lectures, please click on the links below:
Monday, March 1, 2004
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE
PFS Program Intern Katarzyna Hanula conducted the PFS Program’s sixth semi-annual survey of online investor relations of the 10 largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in each of the following countries: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. The survey provides current data and comparisons with the five previous surveys, completed in August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001.
The survey demonstrates that a majority of the largest listed in the region communicate with shareholders and potential investors via the Internet, in local language and in English. Nevertheless, comparison of this survey with the two surveys conducted in 2003 indicates that certain thresholds have been reached, and further improvements above these thresholds have not been made. For example: in February 2004, 95% of the companies surveyed have a website (in comparison with 96% in August 2003 and 95% in February 2003) and 75% have an English-language website (in comparison with 83% in August 2003 and 80% in February 2003).
Furthermore, as noted in previous surveys, many companies still do not provide additional information in English about management and supervisory board members. The survey suggests that “best practice” would include a separate page of the website dedicated to investor relations, including a photo and short biography of each senior manager and each member of the board of directors/supervisory board.
To download the survey and the background database, please click on the links below:
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Conclusion of PFS Program Regional Activities in Five Central and Eastern European Countries
Budapest, Hungary
On December 31, 2003 EWMI concluded PFS Program regional activities in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. From 2000 through 2003, the PFS Program (active in the above countries as well as in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) was funded under a cooperative agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and EWMI.
Beginning January 1, 2004 EWMI will continue to cooperate on specific financial sector reform initiatives in the five above-mentioned Central and Eastern European countries on a case-by-case basis.
Under a new grant from the US Department of State, EWMI will continue PFS Program activities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania through June 30, 2004.
Thursday, December 18, 2003
Country Study: “Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by Banks, Financial Institutions and Listed Companies in Poland”
Gdansk, Poland
On Thursday, December 18, 2003 The Gdansk Institute for Market Economics published its inaugural country study, “Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by Banks, Financial Institutions and Listed Companies.” This research, co-financed by a PFS Program Grant, is part of a comprehensive initiative involving a Regional Survey of Reporting on CSR by the Largest Listed Companies in CEE countries (published in September 2003) as well as country surveys conducted by research institutions in Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.
The “Survey of Reporting on CSR by Polish Banks, Financial Institutions and Listed Companies” was conducted during the time period August – October 2003. It investigates Polish-language information available in the 2002 annual reports and websites of 31 Polish banks, 32 financial institutions (16 investment fund companies and 16 pension fund companies) and all 201 companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Encompassing corporate governance, environmental policies and social policies, the Polish survey employs the same template used by the PFS Program in its Survey of Reporting on CSR by the Largest Listed Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia, published in September 2003. In addition, similar country studies of listed companies have been completed in the Czech Republic and Hungary, and will be published in early January 2004. As a result, the group of surveys should enable for the first time benchmarking of reporting on CSR in these countries against other countries in the European Union (EU) and elsewhere.
Survey findings include the following:
- 74% of Polish listed companies provide information on management board structure and 62% on supervisory board structure.
- 100% of the banks surveyed provide information on management board structure and 93% provide information on supervisory board structure.
- 80% of the investment fund companies and 100% of the pension fund companies surveyed provide information about their management board structure.
- In the environmental policy sphere, 20% of Polish listed companies state whether they comply with industry, national and/or international regulations regarding environmental standards.
- In the social policy sphere, 18% of listed companies disclose employee development/employee benefit policies and 16% disclose information regarding community patronage/sponsorship programs.
To download the country study in Polish and/or in English, please click on the links below:
Friday, December 12, 2003
Country Studies: The Economic Impact of Registered Pledge Systems in Latvia and Poland
Riga, Latvia and Gdansk, Poland
In 2003, the PFS Program co-financed two country studies: Each study analyzed the economic impact of the registered pledge system in the respective country. The Latvian study was co-financed by the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks and the Polish study was co-financed by the Gdansk Academy of Banking.
The studies were presented at the Regional Symposium on Registered Pledge Systems in Transition Economies, held in Budapest, Hungary on December 11, 2003. (See the PowerPoint presentations of these country studies as well as presentations on the Czech Republic and Sloval Republic.)
To download the studies, please click on the appropriate link below:
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Second Annual Regional Symposium on Registered Pledge Systems in Transition Economies
Budapest, Hungary
On December 11, 2003 the PFS Program, in cooperation with the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks and the Gdansk Academy of Banking, held a Second Annual Regional Symposium on Registered Pledge Systems in Transition Economies. 19 persons, representing Hungary, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovak Republic and the US, attended the Regional Symposium.
To download the agenda, presentations and list of participants, please click on the links below:
Friday, November 7, 2003
Seminar on Socially Responsible Business in Poland
Warsaw, Poland
On Friday, November 7, 2003 The Gdansk Institute for Market Economics held a Seminar on Socially Responsible Business in Poland. At the seminar, The Gdansk Institute for Market Economics presented its inaugural “Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by Polish Banks, Financial Institutions and Listed Companies.” This research, co-financed by a PFS Program Grant, is part of a comprehensive initiative involving a regional survey of reporting on CSR by the largest listed companies in CEE countries as well as country surveys conducted by research institutions in Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.
The seminar opened with an in-depth overview of the Polish Survey. Thereafter, the PFS Program’s Regional Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by the Largest Listed Companies in Six Central and Eastern European Countries was presented. Three leading members of Poland’s banking/financial community commented on the research. A final session allowed for a roundtable discussion of the research and brainstorming on possible follow-up activities. Representatives of Polish companies, financial institutions, the financial press, non-governmental organizations and self-regulatory organizations as well as multilateral financial institutions attended the seminar.
The final version of the Polish Survey will be published (in English and in Polish) on the Capital Markets Research page in December 2003.
To download the seminar presentations (in Polish), please click on the links below:
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - Friday, October 17, 2003
Regional Workshop on Prevention of Money Laundering
Krakow, Poland
On October 16-17, 2003 the PFS Program, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Poland conducted a Regional Workshop on Prevention of Money Laundering. The participant breakdown was as follows: Poland (17 prosecutors; two representatives of the Department of Financial Information, Ministry of Finance; and one representative of the Department of Judicial Assistance and European Law, Ministry of Justice); Slovak Republic (one judge and one prosecutor); Slovenia (the Director of the Slovene Office for Money Laundering Prevention); UK (one barrister); Ukraine (three prosecutors and one police officer/instructor from the National University of Internal Affairs); and US (one judge and one regional advisor of the US Treasury, also a former prosecutor). On the first day of the workshop, specialists from Poland, Slovenia, the UK and the US presented case studies demonstrating a range of issues and experiences in combating money laundering. On the second day, participants debated case studies presented by judges and prosecutors from Poland, Slovak Republic and Ukraine. This in-depth discussion of real life situations from the three jurisdictions, complemented by insights offered by Slovene, UK and US practitioners, proved to be an extremely fruitful exercise, enabling the exchange of lessons learned and identification of best practices.
To download the agenda, presentations, speaker CVs and list of participants, please click on the links below:
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Investor Relations magazine Central and Eastern Europe Conference & Awards 2003 –
Warsaw, Poland
On Wednesday, September 17, 2003 Investor Relations magazine held its second annual Central and Eastern Europe Conference & Awards. This year’s venue was Warsaw, Poland following last year’s inaugural event in Budapest.
The Budapest Stock Exchange, the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the PFS Program were three of the many sponsors; for the second year in a row, the PFS Program co-financed the independent research that selected the award winners.
Participants representing institutional investors, listed companies, regulatory authorities, self-regulatory organizations, service providers and stock exchanges from across Central and Eastern Europe as well as the European Union and the United States attended. Mr. Mazullo presented the PFS Program’s most recent Survey of Online Investor Relations of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE and inaugural Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by the Largest Listed Companies in CEE. Please click on this link to Investor Relations magazine’s website to read a list of the companies and individuals who received awards.
Friday, July 11, 2003
Presentation of Investor Relations Online Revisited - Survey of Websites of Polish Listed Companies - 2003
Warsaw, Poland
On Friday, July 11, 2003 the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the PFS Program held a presentation of the third annual Survey of Online Investor Relations of Polish Companies Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The survey was commissioned by the PFS Program and conducted by Digital Strategies Group, Inc. It analyzes current Polish practices and compares this year‘s data with the survey completed in 2002. At the beginning of the event, Mr. Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program presented the regional surveys of online investor relations of the largest listed companies in eight Central and Eastern European countries. 84 representatives of Polish listed companies and the financial press attended the presentation, held at the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
To download the survey in English and Polish, and Mr. Mazullo’s presentation in Polish, please click on the link below:
Thursday, May 22, 2003 - Friday, May 23, 2003
Regional Workshop on Prevention of Money Laundering
Gdansk, Poland
On May 22-23, 2003 the PFS Program, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Poland, conducted a Regional Workshop on Prevention of Money Laundering. The participant breakdown was as follows: Estonia (one prosecutor); Latvia (three prosecutors); Lithuania (one judge and two prosecutors): Poland (one judge, 30 prosecutors and one representative of the Department of Judicial Assistance and European Law, Ministry of Justice); Russia (two prosecutors); Slovenia (the Director of the Slovene Office for Money Laundering Prevention); UK (two barristers, one a former prosecutor) and US (one judge). On the first day, specialists from Poland, Slovenia, the UK and the US presented case studies demonstrating a range of issues and experiences in combating money laundering. On the second day, participants debated case studies presented by prosecutors from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. This in-depth discussion of real life situations from the four jurisdictions, complemented by insights offered by UK and US practitioners, proved to be an extremely fruitful exercise, enabling the exchange of lessons learned and identification of best practices.
To download the agenda, presentations, speaker CVs and list of participants, please click on the links below:
Thursday, May 8, 2003
PFS Program Grants to MAKK Hungarian Environmental Economics Center and The Gdansk Institute for Market Economics
The PFS Program awarded a PFS Program Grant to MAKK Hungarian Environmental Economics Center to conduct a “Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by Listed Companies in Hungary” and a PFS Program Grant to The Gdansk Institute for Market Economics to conduct a “Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by Banks, Financial Institutions and Listed Companies in the Poland.” The surveys will be completed in autumn 2003 and published on the websites of the respective institutions and the PFS Program.
Monday, April 14, 2003 - Wednesday, April 16, 2003
International Accounting Standards (IAS) Seminars
Poznan, Warsaw and Katowice, Poland
In April 2003, the PFS Program, in cooperation with the National Chamber of Statutory Auditors of Poland, held three seminars on International Accounting Standards (IAS). On Monday, April 14 a seminar was held in Poznan; on Tuesday, April 15, a seminar was held in Warsaw; and on Wednesday, April 16, a seminar was held in Katowice.
35 participants attended the seminar in Poznan, 46 participants attended the seminar in Warsaw and 47 participants attended the seminar in Katowice.
Participants included accountants, auditors, officials of the National Chamber of Statutory Auditors of Poland and accounting specialists from the Ministry of Finance.
The National Chamber of Statutory Auditors of Poland translated the agenda and presentations into Polish.
To download the agenda and presentations, please click on the links below.
Monday, April 7, 2003
PFS Program Grants to the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks and the Gdansk Academy of Banking
The PFS Program awarded a PFS Program Grant to the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks to conduct an analysis of “The Economic Impact of the Registered Pledge System in Latvia” and a PFS Program Grant to the Gdansk Academy of Banking to conduct an updated analysis of the “Economic Impact of the Registered Pledge System in Poland 2002/2003.” The surveys will be completed in autumn 2003 and published on the websites of the respective institutions and the PFS Program.
Saturday, February 22, 2003 - Saturday, March 1, 2003
Study Tour to the United States for Internal Auditors of CEE Consolidated Financial Supervisory Authorities
Washington, DC and Philadelphia, PA
The PFS Program organized a study tour on internal audit for staff of the following institutions (in alphabetical order by country): Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority; Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority; Latvian Financial and Capital Markets Commission; Supervisory Commission for Insurance and Pension Funds (Poland); Slovak Financial Market Authority.
The study tour visited the following institutions (in alphabetical order) in Philadelphia, PA and Washington, DC: City of Philadelphia – Office of the City Controller; Department of Insurance and Securities Regulation (DISR) of the District of
Columbia; Ignet - Website of the Federal Inspectors General; International Insurance Foundation; National Association of Insurance Commissioners; National Association of Securities Dealers; United States Agency for International Development; United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; United States Federal Reserve Board; United States Department of the Treasury; United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Friday, November 1, 2002
Investor Relations Online Revisited - Survey of Websites of Polish Listed Companies - 2002
In summer 2002, the PFS Program commissioned Digital Strategies Group, Inc. to conduct a second annual Survey of Online Investor Relations of Polish Companies Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. This in-depth survey analyzes current Polish practices and compares this year’s data with the survey completed in 2001. Digital Strategies Group, Inc. will repeat the survey in 2003.
To download the survey, please click on the link below:
Tuesday, June 4, 2002
Regional Symposium on Registered Pledge Systems in Six Transition Economies
Gdansk, Poland
On Tuesday, June 4, 2002 the PFS Program,
in cooperation with The Gdansk
Institute for Market Economics conducted a Regional Symposium on
Registered Pledge Systems in Six Transition Economies. The symposium took place in Gdansk,
Poland.
29 participants from 10 countries attended the symposium.
To download the agenda and presentations, please click on the links below:
| Agenda - The Economic Impact of Registered Pledge Systems - June 4, 2002.rtf - 15 KB |
| Presentation - EBRD - June 4, 2002.ppt - 197 KB |
| Presentation - Albania - ACER - June 4, 2002.ppt - 225 KB |
| Presentation - Bulgaria - CED - June 4, 2002.ppt - 88 KB |
| Presentation - Booz, Allen Hamilton - June 4, 2002.ppt - 89 KB |
| Presentation - Hungary - TCgroup - June 4, 2002.ppt - 73 KB |
| Presentation - Hungary - ICEGEC - June 4, 2002.ppt - 164 KB |
| Presentation - Lithuania - LFMI - June 4, 2002.ppt - 95 KB |
| Presentation - Poland - IBnGR - June 4, 2002.ppt - 166 KB |
| Presentation - Czech Republic - June 4, 2002.ppt - 48 KB |
| List of Participants - June 4, 2002.doc - 34 KB |
Saturday, June 1, 2002
Country Studies: The Economic Impact of Registered Pledge Systems in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania and Poland
In 2001/2002, the PFS Program co-financed five country studies: Each
study analyzed the economic impact of the registered pledge system in the
respective country. The Albanian study
was co-financed by the Albanian Economic
Research Center; the Bulgarian study was co-financed by the Center for Economic Development; the Hungarian
study was co-financed by the International
Center for Economic Growth European Center; the Lithuanian study was
co-financed by the Lithuanian Free Market
Institute; and the Polish study was co-financed by The Gdansk Institute for Market Economics
To download the studies, please click on the appropriate link below:
Thursday, March 14, 2002 - Friday, March 15, 2002
Seminar: Procedures of Asset and Liability Management of the Insurance Company
Warsaw, Poland
On Thursday and Friday, March 14-15, 2002 the then Polish State Office for Insurance Supervision (as of April 1, 2002 the Polish Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Commission), in cooperation with the International Insurance Foundation, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the PFS Program organized a Seminar: Procedures of Asset and Liability Management of the Insurance Company at the office of the then Polish State Office for Insurance Supervision in Warsaw, Poland. Participants from the Insurance Supervisory Agencies of several countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Ukraine) attended the seminar. Speakers from these countries as well as the sponsoring institutions shared their expertise and presented case studies for discussion.
To download the agenda and presentations, please click on the links below:
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Investor Relations Seminar
Warsaw, Poland
On Wednesday, February 27, 2002 the PFS Program, in cooperation with the Warsaw Stock Exchange, organized an Investor Relations seminar in Warsaw, Poland. The seminar took place on the premises of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Some 50 participants representing Polish listed companies and the Polish investment community, as well as representatives of the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority, the Lithuanian Securities Commission and the National Stock Exchange of Lithuania attended the seminar. The seminar is part of a series of investor relations seminars the PFS Program is conducting in cooperation with Central and Eastern European Stock Exchanges throughout 2001 and 2002.
To download the agenda and presentations, please click on the links below:
| Agenda - Best Practices for Investor Relations Professionals - Warsaw - February 27, 2002.rtf - 15 KB |
| Presentation - Geoffrey Mazullo, Director PFS Program - February 27, 2002.ppt - 263 KB |
| Presentation - Standard & Poor's - February 27, 2002.ppt - 527 KB |
| Presentation - David Cairns - February 27, 2002.ppt - 68 KB |
| Presentation - ECC Kohtes Klewes GmbH - February 27, 2002.ppt - 483 KB |
| Presentation - Polish Securities and Exchange Commission - February 27, 2002.ppt - 116 KB |
| Calendar of Disclosure Requirements of Publicly-Traded Polish Joint Stock Companies.doc - 558 KB |
| Presentation - Digital Strategies Group - February 27, 2002 .ppt - 176 KB |
| Presentation - Digital Strategies Group (Polish) - February 27, 2002.ppt - 194 KB |
| Presentation - Investor Relations magazine - February 27, 2002.ppt - 217 KB |
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
CalPERS Announcement
Sacramento, California
On February 20, 2002 the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) – one of the largest public pension funds in the United States - announced that it was selling its investments in several Southeast Asian emerging markets and reallocating its portfolio based on specific investment criteria. CalPERS, established in 1932, today has a managed asset value of US$151.8 billion, US$1billion of which is allocated for emerging market investment in 2002. Considering the relatively small size of the emerging markets where CalPERS may invest and the potential knock-on effect by other institutional investors who might follow CalPERS lead, this decision could significantly impact investment in several countries over the medium and long-term.
As a result of its new investment analysis, CalPERS will begin or continue to invest in publicly traded companies in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, Peru, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey while simultaneously divesting its holdings in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. (CalPERS was not able to invest in Hungary or Poland before this new analysis was completed; it already was able to invest in Czech Republic.)
Below is an abstract from the analysis of all the above emerging markets. Each market was analyzed with respect to three country factors and five market factors. In the six countries presented here, the ratings for each subcategory ranged from 1 (poor) to 3 (good).
 |
|
Argentina |
Czech Republic |
Hungary |
Poland |
Russia |
Turkey |
Country
Factors
(50%) |
Political stability(17%) |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
| Transparency(16%) |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
Productive labor
practices(17%) |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
Market
Factors
(50%) |
Market liquidity
and volatility (10%) |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
Market regulation
/Legal system/
Investor protection (15%) |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Capital market
openness (10%) |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
| Settlement proficiency (10%) |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
| Transaction costs (5%) |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
| Overall |
Overall average results |
2.63 |
2.25 |
2.5 |
2.39 |
1.15 |
2.02 |
Ranking of emerging
countries |
1 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
27 |
13 |
Based on the weighted overall average figures, the emerging markets were ranked: Argentina ranked first and Russia last. CalPERS’ investment managers may invest in any market with a weighted average result of at least 2.00.
Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland received quite similar ratings, ranging between 2.25 and 2.5. According to CalPERS, the most significant issues are: low liquidity in the Czech Republic; relatively poor market regulation and legal system (bankruptcy legislation, creditors rights and shareholder protection) in all three counties; and poor settlement systems in Czech Republic and Hungary.
Although CalPERS was already able to invest in Czech Republic before the February 20, 2002 announcement, both Hungary and Poland – newcomers to the list of countries where CalPERS may invest - scored slightly higher ratings than the Czech Republic in this new analysis.
For further information on the CalPERSannouncement, please visit the CalPERS website and its Press Archive for February 20, 2002.
Thursday, November 8, 2001 - Friday, November 9, 2001
Seminar on Pension Fund Inspection
Warsaw, Poland
On November 8-9, 2001 the PFS Program, in cooperation with the
International Network of Pension Regulators and Supervisors
(INPRS) of the
Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), held its first Private Pension Seminar in Warsaw, Poland. The host of the event was theSuperintendency of Pension Funds of Poland (UNFE). Pensions supervisors from OECD countries and other countries implementing pension reform spoke at the seminar, as did experts in financial supervision, social security contribution and tax collection. Seminar participation was limited to pension regulators and supervisors from Central, Eastern and Southeastern European countries, in order to promote interactive discussions during the presentations. 50 participants from 17 countries attended the seminar.
The objective of the seminar was to inform staff members of regulatory/supervisory agencies about operational/technical procedures of private pension funds, investigation techniques, methodologies for fund inspection and best practices in fund supervision.
To download the agenda and presentations, please click on the links below:
Saturday, September 1, 2001
Investor Relations Online - Survey of Websites of Polish Listed Companies
In summer 2001, PFS Program commissioned Digital Strategies Group, Inc. to conduct a survey of Online Investor Relations of Polish Companies Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. This in-depth survey of Polish practices follows a survey conducted by the PFS Program of online investor relations at the 10 largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia and Slovak Republic. (See below.) The research was designed to be presented at the series of investor relations seminars the PFS Program will conduct in cooperation with the stock exchanges in the above-mentioned eight Central and Eastern European stock exchanges. (Please see the Capital Markets Seminars page for the agendas and presentations from those seminars.)
Digital Strategies Group, Inc. will repeat the survey in 2002.
To download the survey, please click on the link below:
Monday, July 16, 2001
Country Study on Registered Pledge System
On July 16, 2001, the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program awarded a grant to The Gdansk Institute for Market Economics to co-finance a country study of "The Economic Impact of the Registered Pledge System in Poland." This country study is part of a regional PFS initiative involving several country studies designed to share experiences and identify best practices in this area.
Friday, July 13, 2001
Technical Assistance: Implementing Legislation for a Registered Pledge - Secured Transaction System
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
On Friday, July 13, 2001 in response to a request for technical assistance from the Ministry of Justice of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the PFS Program organized a visit of three Polish judges to Sarajevo. Given that the Law on Registered Pledges and the Pledge Registry was under parliamentary consideration in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ministry of Justice requested that the PFS Program provide expertise from Central and Eastern European countries regarding the implementing legislation necessary once the Law was passed. The Polish judges met officials of the Ministry of Justice and offered recommendations regarding implementing legislation. In their assessment report, the Polish judges noted that three pieces of Polish implementing legislation would provide an initial intellectual framework for the Ministry of Justice to begin drafting implementing legislation for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The PFS Program financed the translation of this legislation into Bosnian.
To download the assessment report (in English) and translations of Polish implementing legislation into Bosnian, please click on the respective link below:
Two of the judges, Judge Jacek Czaja and Judge Jacek Widlo, had visited Sarajevo in February 1999 (under the auspices of the then USAID Legal and Regulatory Reform Project) to assist the Ministry of Justice of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in drafting the Law on Registered Pledges and the Pledge Registry. As part of the technical assistance provided, Judge Czaja’s Commentary on the Polish Law on Registered Pledges and the Pledge Registry was translated into Bosnian.
To download the translation of Judge Jacek Czaja’s Commentary into Bosnian, please click on the link below:
Friday, June 22, 2001
Bank Restructuring Seminar
Sofia, Bulgaria
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) hosted a regional seminar on bank restructuring, entitled, "Restructuring and Development of the Banking Sector in Advanced Transition Economies: Lessons for Bulgaria'' on June 22, 2001 in Sofia, Bulgaria. PFS grants to EPI (Bulgaria), IES (Czech Republic), ICEG (Hungary) and CASE (Poland) co-financed country studies and a comparative study presented at the seminar. Participants from Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania and Yugoslavia attended the seminar.
To dowload the presentations, please click on the link below, then choose Publications from the left menu, and scroll down to Discussion Papers. The presentations are under Nr. 8 and 10.
Thursday, April 19, 2001
Polish Capital Market Seminar
Warsaw, Poland
On April 19, 2001, the PFS Program participated in a seminar organized by the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission (PSEC) and the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) commemorating "10 Years of the Polish Capital Market." Polish and foreign capital markets specialists spoke about the historical development and the future of Polish (and European) capital markets.
In opening remarks, Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek noted the role of foreign experience and international cooperation in establishing Polish capital markets. He also paid tribute to the role of Polish individual investors as new owners of Polish listed companies. Paul Arlman, Secretary General of the Federation of European Stock Exchanges, stressed the demand-side importance of pension reform for future capital market development and the supply-side importance of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), calling them the "engines of future growth." He offered these words of advice: "Over the next ten years, the Warsaw Stock Exchange and other European Stock Exchanges must reconfigure procedures and processes to allow a level playing field to develop. This requires a three-prong approach: legislation, the ability of Securities and Exchange Commissions to act and react flexibly; and the issuance and enforcement of Codes of Conduct by Self-Regulatory Organizations (SROs). Anti-abuse legislation is important in engendering confidence of institutional and foreign investors."
Aldona Kamela-Sowinska, Minister of the Treasury, Poland delivered a very thought-provoking presentation that asked, "How should we measure the success of Polish privatization?" She queried which parameters should be applied and analyzed:
- the number of state-owned companies privatized;
- the privatization proceeds paid into the state budget (that permitted the transformation of the pension system);
- the money invested in Poland that improved the quality of goods and services produced, allowed for infrastructure improvements, permitted improvement of environmental protection, etc.;
- the change in ownership structure of individual companies (which socio-economic model is the parameter here?);
- the growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP);
- the creation of new institutions (Warsaw Stock Exchange; Polish Securities and Exchange Commission; National Depositary; National Investment Funds; private pension funds; etc.);
- the number of jobs created; and
- the satisfaction of citizens with the new socio-economic system.
A comprehensive analysis of all of these factors could create a catalog of the successes of Polish privatization.
In response to the question, "Which lessons did we learn?" Minister Kamela-Sowinska noted the following:
1. Privatization is not a goal in and of itself.
2. Privatization must strive to achieve macroeconomic goals, for example, the creation of capital market institutions and a market economy.
3. Every privatized company must have its own business goal(s).
4. Privatization is a process that includes social adaptation and tansition.
5. Privatization requires sound procedures.
6. Privatization must be accepted by political and social circles.
7. Privatization requires a legal and regulatory framework.
8. Privatization requires stable rules (taxation, etc.)
9. Privatization must be divorced from politics.
10. Privatization is the mother of the stock exchange.
Krzysztof Lis, Member of the Supervisory Board, Warsaw Stock Exchange, stressed the future necessity of developing strong corporate governance standards. Conversely, Janusz Lewandowski, Minister of Privatization (1991; 1992-93) offered a historical overview and coined a new phrase. He noted that "Poland opened its economy at a moment when globalization was underway; this has led to the "subsidarization" of the Polish economy, whereby many companies operating in Poland are subsidiaries of multinational corporations headquartered elsewhere. Polish companies did not have time to develop before they were hit with the impact of globalization and European integration."
Leslaw Paga, Chairman of the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission (1991- 94) explained that the Warsaw Stock Exchange is not an independent entity; it is part of the overall capital market framework, involving legislation, institutions, markets and the overall economy.
Jacek Socha, current Chairman of the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission, opined that privatizations via Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) have not been spectacular successes. Nevertheless, Polish capital markets are a success story that underscores the necessity of several pre-requisites, among them: the importance of a central share registry; the importance of professionalism of capital market participants; the importance of the establishment of the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission (PSEC) at the very outset of privatization and transition, without which, this would not have been possible. In his opinion, this last factor should serve as a model for other transition economies. He mentioned Hungary as the only other Central and Eastern European (CEE) country that took this approach. In contrast, other countries established their securities regulator years into privatization.
Regarding future developments, he noted that Poland faces many decisions: How should insider trading and price manipulation be regulated? How will consolidation of regulation work in Hungary, Latvia and the Slovak Republic? How will Poland adapt its national regulations to international standards? How will Poland implement European Union (EU) directives? Will the Warsaw Stock Exchange identify an international alliance or partner to join?
Wieslaw Rozlucki, President of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, pondered the question, "What contributed to success of WSE?" He stressed the ethos of professionalism of Polish capital market participants. He encouraged them to continue to follow the example of international market leaders and learn from their successes and failures. He also echoed remarks of other panelists regarding the role of the entire capital markets framework in creating a positive environment in which the Warsaw Stock Exchange could grow.
Mr. Rozlucki found mention of the so-called "subsidarization" of the Polish economy worrying. "I heard this word for the first time today," he explained, "and it worries me. But there is something to it; our market opened in an era of globalization."
While aware that "success today is not any guarantee for the future," he nevertheless underscored the confidence of the Warsaw Stock Exchange in facing future challenges of privatization of the Exchange, and institutional integration. He predicted, "The technological integration of European Stock Exchanges has taken place; institutional integration is the next step."
Sunday, April 1, 2001
Regulatory Environment
In April 2001, the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission provided the PFS Program with information on the regulatory environment for business in Poland (see below).
Wednesday, March 28, 2001
UK Investor Relations Society - 2001 Annual Conference
London, United Kingdom
In March 2001, the PFS Program sponsored the participation of the Polish Association of Individual Investors in the 2001 annual conference of the Investor Relations Society in London, UK. Representatives of six Central and Eastern European (CEE) stock exchanges also participated in this PFS-sponsored initiative to promote awareness of and launch training on investor relations for CEE issuers.
Monday, January 1, 2001
World Bank Institute Conference
Budapest, Hungary
In January 2001, the PFS Program sponsored the participation of a representative of three Polish pensions specialists in a World Bank Institute conference on pension reform held in Budapest, Hungary.
Thursday, November 30, 2000 - Friday, December 1, 2000
Corporate Governance Conference
Wiesbaden, Germany
In December 2000, the PFS Program sponsored the participation of the Warsaw Stock Exchange; the Polish Association of Brokers and Investment Advisors; the Bratislava Stock Exchange and the Slovak Broker Dealer Association in a corporate governance conference in Wiesbaden, Germany organized by the German Shareholders Association DSW. The conference entitled, "Finanzplatz Deutschland - Better Thank Its Reputation?" offered insights into capital market and corporate governance developments in Germany and the European Union (EU).
Mr. Krzysztof Grabowski, President of the Management Board of the Polish Association of Brokers and Investment Advisors, penned for the PFS website his reflections on the conference: "The topic of corporate governance is becoming increasingly popular in Poland. I therefore travelled to Wiesbaden with great anticipation to attend the above-mentioned conference organized by the German Shareholders' Association DSW. I was curious to compare the situation in Germany and Poland. The overall comparison did not come out poorly: Of course, in terms of organizations we in Poland are still in the developmental phase; for example, the Association of Individual Investors was established only recently. I do not, however, have any concerns in terms of the level of consciousness in Poland about how important these issues are for the development and proper functioning of capital markets.
During the conference, I noted several statements that attracted my attention. Most important for me was the confirmation that corporate governance refers to attentiveness to the interests of shareholders, and specifically the rights of minority shareholders. I have participated in many conferences, seminars and discussions which attempted to more precisely define the term "corporate governance". Most often, it was determined that this term refers to the specific relations between the management board and the supervisory board, between the corporation and shareholders, to the practical organization of the general meeting of shareholders, to the process of informing shareholders about the corporation's activities, etc.
In any case, this was the definition that I heard throughout the conference, which in clear and practical terms analysed the crux of the matter. Personally, I liked very much a notion that the shareholder is not only "a simple provider of capital", but rather in fact the owner of the corporation. Indeed, in the corporation, the shareholder is the most important, because the corporation exists for the shareholder and indeed everything should ensue in his/her interest. Everything else follows from this basic assumption. In most cases, there are one or more major shareholder(s) in the corporation, who in fact decide everything; however, one cannot forget about the entire realm of small shareholders, who also have rights and who form the loyal shareholder base. If anything should go wrong, major shareholders quickly sell their stakes, but these small shareholders remain loyal to "their" corporation, that is, if the corporation gains their trust.
Therefore, a fundamental element of corporate culture is the development of internal relations such that minority shareholders can identify with the policies and activities of the corporation on an ongoing basis. In other words, shareholders should be respected and then they in turn will respect the individuals who manage their assets in their trust. All else is merely formulation and development of this fundamental principle - The Code of Best Practice is a good example here.
Some management boards have a tendency to focus more on the share price than on the corporation's business. This is another observation that I noted at the conference. This is unfortunately an example of the trivialization of responsibilities - perhaps based on the assumption that if the share price is high, then everyone is satisfied and therefore the problem of minority shareholder rights will resolve itself. Of course, share price is an important aspect of the corporation's activities, but it should not be the fundamental goal if this implies forgetting long-term strategy. For even a momentary fall in share price paralyses activities. And long-term planning should foresee periods of accumulation and investment - during such periods it is difficult to make a profit, therefore the share price might fall temporarily. If however, we take care of fundamental issues, that is, of the interest of the corporation, and also maintain good contacts with all shareholders, then in the long run we can also rest assured about a good price of our shares.
In this we build value for our shareholders, thus the term "shareholder value." And thus I noted an optimistic point during the conference: Five years ago we asked ourselves the question, "Does it make sense to do this?" Today no one has such doubts; the question is simply, "How to best build value for shareholders?""
Wednesday, November 1, 2000
Comparative Analysis of Corporate Governance and Shareholders Rights in Central and Eastern Europe
In November 2000, the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission provided the PFS Program with data for the PFS comparative study of corporate governance and shareholders' rights in Central and Eastern Europe.
Regulatory Environment for Business >>
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