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:
Thursday, June 25, 2009
International Seminar: Supply Chain Management and its Impact on Social Responsible Investment
Bucharest, Romania
On Thursday, June 25, 2009 the Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute and the PFS Program organized an International Seminar: Supply Chain Management and its Impact on Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). This was the fourth year in which the Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute and the PFS Program co-organized a June event, following seminars organized in June 2008, June 2007 as well as June 2006.
The innovative topic of the seminar was selected by Petra Alexandru, Executive Director, Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute. Mariana Ciurel, Strategy and International Alliances, Bucharest Stock Exchange, devised the agenda and content. The international seminar represented a first in-depth discussion in Romania of the impact of supply chain management on SRI.
The first session was dedicated to SRI and covered fundamentals as well as integration of SRI into the investment decision-making process. The PFS Program presented a basic primer on SRI followed by two mini case studies written by the PFS Program team about the role of supply chain management in corporate social responsibility (CSR). The case studies deomonstrated how supply chain management can attract or deter investors. Thereafter, the Director of Corporate and Investor Relations at Petrom presented the companies approach to supply chain management and its role in the company’s overall CSR policies/procedures.
The second session investigated various operational risks and their effect on the company’s risk profile. Presentations by representatives of Maersk Romania, Oracle Romania and POP Pepa Attorneys-at-Law covered corporate governance, information technology, risk management and supply chain management.
During the third session, representatives of the European Centre for Corporate Engagement, Maastricht University and Fitch Ratings Turkey analyzed the question: How socially screened should your portfolio be?
At the beginning of the fourth and final session a representative of Marsh Romania explained how supply chain integrity and sustainability awareness impact cost-efficiency and business value. Therafter representatives of the Bucharest Stock Exchange - Corporate Governance Institute and Eurosif discussed various issues related to the responsibility component/parameter of SRI.
The event was attended by a total of 52 participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Romania. A representative of the Sarajevo Stock Exchange moderated session two and a representative of Komercijalna Banka AD Skopje moderated session three.
This seminar is part of an ongoing and multi-faceted PFS Program regional initiative dedicated towards strengthening corporate govenance and improving the quality of financial and non-financial reporting across Central and Eastern Europe as well as South East Europe.
To download the seminar agenda, presentations and a list of participants, please click on the links below:
 | Agenda - International Seminar - SCM and SRI - June 25 2009.pdf - 543 KB |
| Presentation - PFS Program - SRI Fundamentals and SCM - June 25, 2009.pdf - 1,244 KB |
| Presentation - Petrom - International Seminar - SCM and SRI - June 25, 2009.pdf - 1,043 KB |
| Presentation - Maersk Romania - International Seminar - SCM and SRI - June 25, 2009.pdf - 438 KB |
| Presentation - POP PEPA Attorneys-at-Law - International Seminar - SCM and SRI - June 25, 2009.pdf - 51 KB |
| Presentation - Oracle Romania - International Seminar - SCM and SRI - June 25, 2009.pdf - 2,154 KB |
| Presentation - ECCE - International Seminar - SCM and SRI - June 25, 2009.pdf - 1,202 KB |
| Presentation - Fitch Ratings Turkey - International Seminar - SCM and SRI - June 25, 2009.pdf - 910 KB |
| Presentation - Marsh Romania - International Seminar - SCM and SRI - June 25, 2009.pdf - 528 KB |
| Presentation - BSE-Corporte Governance Institute - International Seminar - SCM and SRI - June 25, 2009.pdf - 232 KB |
| Presentation - EUROSIF - International Seminar - SCM and SRI - June 25, 2009.pdf - 2,406 KB |
| List of Participants - International Seminar - SCM and SRI - June 25, 2009.xls - 59 KB |
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:
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:
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:
Friday, September 12, 2008
Investor Relations Seminar
Brasov, Romania
On Friday, September 12, 2008 the Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute organized an Investor Relations Seminar in Brasov, Romania. This seminar represented the most recent joint activity of the Bucharest Stock Exchange / Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute and the PFS Program, following a number of events held since 2004 in Bucharest.
25 persons participated in the seminar, representing companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and Romanian capital market institutions.
The seminar is part of an ongoing and multi-faceted PFS Program regional initiative dedicated towards promoting the implementation of international standards and identifying best practice in investor relations across Central and Eastern Europe as well as South East Europe.
This was the 15th investor relations seminar organized or jointly organized by the PFS Program and its partners since 2001, attracting a total of 746 participants. (Materials from each of the seminars may be found on the Capital Markets Seminars page of the PFS Program website.)
To download the seminar agenda and presentations, please click on the links below:
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:
Friday, June 20, 2008
Regional Seminar: Issuers & Market Integrity
Bucharest, Romania
On Friday, June 20, 2008 the Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute and the PFS Program organized a Regional Seminar on Issuers & Market Integrity. This was the fourth annual corporate governance conference organized by the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the third year in which the Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute and the PFS Program co-organized the event, following seminars organized in June 2007 as well as June 2006.
During the seminar, representatives of the Government Representatives for the Austrian Capital Market, the Belgrade Stock Exchange, the Istanbul Stock Exchange and Limestone Investment Management informed the audience about recent developments and trends in their respective markets. The PFS Program presented a case study regarding a corporate governance scandal in Sweden that is yet widely discussed in SEE. The insights of the foreign speakers on best practice and international standards in corporate governance as well as financial and non-financial reporting were complemented by presentations of representatives of Azomures, Bucharest Stock Exchange, CFA Romania, IFB Finwest and Petrom about the current situation in Romania.
This seminar is part of an ongoing and multi-faceted PFS Program regional initiative dedicated towards strengthening corporate governance and improving the quality of financial and non-financial reporting across Central and Eastern Europe as well as South East Europe.
To download the seminar agenda, presentations and a press release issued after the seminar, please click on the links below:
| Agenda - Seminar - Issuers and Market Integrity - June 20, 2008.pdf - 86 KB |
| Presentation - Bucharest Stock Exchange - Regional Seminar - June 20, 2008.pdf - 31 KB |
| Presentation - BMF - Federal Ministry of Finance - Regional Seminar - June 20, 2008.pdf - 73 KB |
| Presentation - Belgrade Stock Exchange - Regional Seminar - June 20, 2008.pdf - 682 KB |
| Presentation - CFA - Regional Seminar - June 20, 2008.pdf - 294 KB |
| Presentation - PFS Program - Regional Seminar - June 20, 2008.pdf - 385 KB |
| Presentation - Limestone Investment Management - Regional Seminar - June 20, 2008.pdf - 467 KB |
| Presentation - AZOMURES - Regional Seminar - June 20, 2008.pdf - 39 KB |
| Presentation - Istanbul Stock Exchange - Regional Seminar - June 20, 2008.pdf - 284 KB |
| Presentation - Bucharest Stock Exchange - Corporate Governance Institute - Regional Seminar - June 20, 2008.pdf - 101 KB |
| Press Release - Regional Seminar - Issuers & Market Integrity - June 20, 2008.pdf - 39 KB |
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:
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:
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:
Friday, June 22, 2007
Workshop: Reporting on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Issues
Bucharest, Romania
On Friday, June 22, 2007 the Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute and the PFS Program organized a Workshop on Reporting on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Issues. This was the third joint activity of the Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute and the PFS Program.
The workshop was delivered by Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program. The first session of the workshop was dedicated to international standards and best practice in ESG reporting. During it, Mr. Mazullo provided practical information on issues including: corporate governance disclosures; corporate social responsibility (CSR); how companies report on corporate governance, CSR and ESG; socially responsible investing (SRI); the governance, CSR and ESG informational needs of institutional investors; and guidelines/standards for ESG reporting. During the second session, Mr. Mazullo presented data from the two semi-annual PFS Program surveys: Investor Relations Online and Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the largest listed companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. He also presented best practice examples in ESG reporting from Croatia, identified by the Zagreb School of Economics and Management in its 2006 Survey of Reporting on CSR by Leading Croatian Companies.
32 persons representing Romanian institutional investors and listed companies as well as the Bucharest Stock Exchange participated actively in the workshop. This event is part of an ongoing and multi-faceted PFS Program regional initiative dedicated towards improving the quality of financial and non-financial reporting across CEE as well as South East Europe (SEE). The initiative includes: conduct and publication of the above-mentioned PFS Program surveys; PFS Program grants to SEE and CEE research institutes to conduct country surveys of a larger universe of companies using the PFS Program methodology; training programs for a wide range of constituencies on corporate governance, CSR, financial reporting (International Financial Reporting Standards [IFRS] and non-financial reporting (ESG); and advisory as well as advocacy work related to the drafting and implementation of corporate governance codes.
(Materials from each of the training programs may be found on the capital markets seminars page of the PFS Program website. The PFS Program surveys and surveys conducted by PFS Program grantees/partners may be found on the capital markets research page of the PFS Program website.)
To download the workshop agenda, presentations and list of participants, please click on the links below:
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Investor Relations Seminar: What Do Investors Want?
Bucharest, Romania
On Wednesday, June 20, 2007 the Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute and the PFS Program organized a Regional Seminar entitled, “Investor Relations: What Do Investors Want?”
The seminar was the second joint activity of the Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute and the PFS Program, following a Corporate Governance Seminar organized in June 2006.
During the seminar, representatives of Eurosif, Standard Live Investments, the UN Principles of Responsible Investment and XBRL Polska addressed an audience in Romania for the first time. Their insights on best practice and international standards in financial and non-financial reporting were complemented by presentations of representatives of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, BRD Groupe Societe Generale and the Commission for the Supervision of Private Pensions about the current situation in Romania. The PFS Program presented data from its two semi-annual surveys (Investor Relations Online and Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility [CSR]) by the largest listed companies in 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.
A total of 99 persons (speakers, participants and organizers) participated in the seminar. The participant breakdown was as follows: Romania – 75 participants representing investors, listed companies, media, regulatory authorities, USAID Romania and the US Embassy in Bucharest; Bosnia and Herzegovina – a representative of the Sarajevo Stock Exchange; Bulgaria – three representatives of the Bulgarian Investor Relations Society, two representatives of Economic Policy Institute, Sofia and two representatives of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange - Sofia; Hungary – two representatives of the Budapest Stock Exchange; and United States – a representative of Emerging Markets Group.
This seminar is part of an ongoing and multi-faceted PFS Program regional initiative dedicated towards improving the quality of financial and non-financial reporting across Central and Eastern Europe as well as South East Europe. This was the 13th investor relations seminar organized by the PFS Program since 2001, attracting a total of 683 participants. (Materials from each of the seminars may be found on the capital markets seminars page of the PFS Program website.)
To download the seminar agenda, presentations, speaker biographies and list of participants, please click on the links below:
| Agenda - Investor Relations Seminar - June 20, 2007.pdf - 53 KB |
| Opening Presentation - PFS Program - June 20, 2007.pdf - 713 KB |
| Presentation - BRD-Groupe Societe Generale - June 20, 2007.pdf - 40 KB |
| Brief Bio - Aurelian Dochia.pdf - 11 KB |
| Presentation - Standard Life Investments - June 20, 2007.pdf - 538 KB |
| Brief Bio - Julie McDowell - June 2007.pdf - 10 KB |
| Presentation - Eurosif - June 20, 2007.pdf - 216 KB |
| Brief Bio - Matt Christensen - June 2007.pdf - 16 KB |
| Presentation - PFS Program - June 20, 2007.pdf - 2,057 KB |
| Brief Bio - Geoffrey Mazullo - June 2007.pdf - 16 KB |
| Presentation - XBRL Polska - June 20, 2007.pdf - 4,279 KB |
| Brief Bio - Mateusz Hojda - June 2007.pdf - 51 KB |
| Presentation - UN PRI - June 20, 2007..pdf - 467 KB |
| Brief Bio - Jerome Tagger - June 2007.pdf - 10 KB |
| Presentation - Commission for SPPS - June 2007.pdf - 1,187 KB |
| Brief Bio - Dan Pescaru - May 2007.pdf - 11 KB |
| List of Participants - Investor Relations Seminar - June 20, 2007.pdf - 64 KB |
| Complete Materials - Investor Relations Seminar - June 20, 2007.pdf - 9,618 KB |
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, 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:
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:
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, June 16, 2006
Official Opening of the Trading Session of the Bucharest Stock Exchange
On Friday, June 16, 2006 Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program and Dr. Ashraf Gamal, Director, The Egyptian Institute of Directors, Egypt, officially opened the trading session of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
At the beginning of the official opening ceremony, Septimiu Stoica, Chairman, Bucharest Stock Exchange Board of Governors, welcomed guests and media representatives to the exchange. He explained that a day earlier, the Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute and the PFS Program had held a seminar entitled, “The Role of the Company Director within a Listed Company.”
Thereafter, Stere Farmache, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bucharest Stock Exchange, introduced Mr. Mazullo and Dr. Ashraf Gamal. At 10:15, Mr. Mazullo pressed an electronic sensor and Dr. Gamal rang a bell to to launch the ARENA trading system and thereby officially open the day’s trading session at the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Then, Mr. Mazullo introduced the PFS Program to guests and media representatives. In his brief speech, he provided a resume of the above-mentioned seminar held the day before.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Mr. Mazullo and Dr. Gamal signed the Bucharest Stock Exchange’s Book of Honor in commemoration of the official opening. Mr. Farmache and Mr. Mazullo answered journalists’ questions about the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the capital markets in Romania.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Corporate Governance Seminar: The Role of the Company Director within a Listed Company
Bucharest, Romania
On Thursday, June 15, 2006 the Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute and the PFS Program organized a Corporate Governance Seminar: The Role of the Company Director within a Listed Company.
The seminar was the first joint activity of the Bucharest Stock Exchange – Corporate Governance Institute and the PFS Program. It provided an excellent opportunity for experts from Romania, neighboring South East European countries and other countries to share their practical experiences in this field.
Some 40 participants representing Romanian listed companies, capital market institutions and other organizations as well as representatives of the following institutions attended the: Albania - Tirana Stock Exchange; Bosnia and Herzegovina – Securities Commission of Republika Srpska; Bulgaria – Bulgarian Investor Relations Society and Bulgarian Stock Exchange - Sofia; The Egyptian Institute of Directors; Turkey – Istanbul Stock Exchange; and Ukraine – Financial Services Regulator; and Securities and Stock Market State Commission.
Directors of two listed Romanian companies presented case studies demonstrating best practice in practice. Foreign speakers from Estonia, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States covered topics including: corporate governance; disclosure; financial reporting; internal control systems; and risk management – managing financial and non-financial risks.
To download the seminar agenda, presentations, speaker biographies and list of participants, 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:
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:
Friday, June 24, 2005
Conference: “Implementation of Good Corporate Governance – A Common Challenge for Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS) Countries”
Bucharest, Romania
On Friday, June 24, 2005 the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS) and USAID held a conference entitled, “Implementation of Good Corporate Governance – A Common Challenge for FEAS Countries” in Bucharest, Romania.
Participants and speakers included representatives of the above-mentioned co-sponsor organizations as well as representatives of the following institutions: Belgrade Stock Exchange; Bulgarian Stock Exchange – Sofia; Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange; Istanbul Stock Exchange; National Securities and Exchange Commission of Romania; OECD; PFS Program; Romanian capital market institutions; Romanian government agencies; and other institutions.
Representatives of the above-mentioned stock exchanges presented country reports from Bulgaria, Egypt, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. Other conference sessions covered topics including: “Building Liquidity through Transparency;” “Key Challenges for the Corporate Governance of State Owned Enterprises;” and a Report from the FEAS Corporate Governance Task Force. Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program moderated a panel discussion entitled, “The Value of Corporate Governance Information to Shareholders.”
The conference provided an excellent opportunity for experts from a number of institutions to exchange experiences regarding their respective implementation of international standards and adoption of best practices in corporate governance.
To access the conference presentations, please visit the About BSE page of the
Bucharest Stock Exchange website.
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:
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:
Friday, September 3, 2004
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)
PFS Program Interns Izabela Samson and Adam Szymasiuk conducted the PFS Program’s seventh 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 first time.
The survey demonstrates improved online disclosure by the largest listed companies in the eight new member states of the European Union (EU) and impressive first time survey results in the three EU-accession countries.
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 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 August 15, 2004 and comparisons with the six previous surveys, published in February 2004, August 2003, February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001.
As in previous surveys, the percentage of companies with a local-language website remains at 95%. In February 2004, 95% of the companies surveyed had a website, in comparison with 96% in August 2003 and 95% in February 2003.)
In August 2004, 84% of the companies surveyed have an English-language website, in comparison with 75% in February 2004, 84% in August 2003 and 80% in February 2003.
In contrast with the above generally stable thresholds, all other categories surveyed indicate increased disclosure of information.
Survey findings of the eight new member states of the European Union (EU) include the following:
95% of the companies surveyed have a local language website;
84% have an English-language website;
84% provide a list of management online (compared with 77% in February 2004);
38% provide additional information on management online (compared with 38% in February 2004);
70% provide a list of board members online (compared with 61% in February 2004); and
26% provide additional information on board members online (compared with 23% in February 2004).
A comparison of this first survey of companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania with the first complete survey of companies in eight Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries conducted by the PFS Program in February 2002 leads to a positive conclusion: In August 2004, the online investor relations practices of companies in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania are strikingly similar to the practices of the eight CEE countries in February 2002, two years prior to EU accession.
To download the survey and the background databases, please click on the links below:
|
