A constant quibble with corporate governance in India is that while the body of substantive norms has been ballooning over time, the enforcement of those norms has not kept pace. In a somewhat unusual measure, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has threatened to suspend trading of a listed company for failure to file governance reports as required under the listing agreement. As the Business...
Nasscom on Corporate Governance
In early 2009, immediately following the accounting fraud at Satyam, several committees and task forces were constituted to review corporate governance norms and practices in India. Some of them issued their recommendations late last year. These include a report by a task force constituted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and another by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India...
NLSIR Corporate Law and Corporate Governance Symposium: April 10 and 11, 2010
The NLSIR Symposium, scheduled for 10 and 11 April at the NLS campus in Bangalore, will feature several important topics that we have discussed on the blog, including corporate governance, independent directors, tax planning, tax avoidance and adjudication of company disputes. The schedule for the symposium is indicated below. Readers interested in attending may contact us by email as soon as...
Governance Norms for Central PSUs
In 2007, the Central Government issued the Guidelines on Corporate Governance for Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). This was a measure introduced to bring corporate governance norms in CPSEs on par with the private sector. However, it was only a voluntary measure. On March 25, 2010, the Government announced that the Guidelines would now be continued on a mandatory basis. Hence, all CPSEs...
Mutual Funds as Activist Investors
On several occasions, discussions on this Blog have pointed to the inadequacy of shareholder activism (spearheaded by institutional investors) in India, and have therefore called for greater participation of institutional investors in governance processes. A circular issued by SEBI on March 15, 2010 addressed to mutual funds and asset management companies represents an important step towards...
Lehman Bankruptcy Examiner’s Report
The Report of the Examiner in the Chapter 11 proceedings of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. provides details about certain transactions that were carried out in the company and the manner in which they were accounted for in its books. The key transaction is question is referred to as “Repo 105”, and the New York Times Dealbook’s White Collar Watch has a nice summary: The examiner’s report gives us...
Voluntary Nature of Corporate Governance Norms
For the last ten years, corporate governance norms in India have been a mandatory requirement for large listed companies, through Clause 49 of the listing agreement. However, in the recent round of reforms, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has deviated from that path to set out voluntary guidelines for corporate governance (discussed earlier here). Even though these guidelines come in the wake...
Board Diversity and Women Directors
On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, it is apt to consider the role of board diversity, particularly the participation of women directors, in corporate governance. A discussion in the Hindu Business Line finds that women in corporate boardrooms continue to be an exception rather than the norm. Some countries have addressed this concern by imposing specific requirements for women...
Event Announcement: 3rd NLSIR Symposium on Corporate Governance
The National Law School of India Review (NLSIR), the flagship journal of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, will be hosting the 3rd Annual NLSIR Symposium, ‘Indian Corporate Law and Corporate Governance: At the Crossroads’, in Bangalore, on 10th and 11th April, 2010. Extracts from the concept note for the Symposium may be of interest to our readers...
Enhanced Corporate Governance Practices
Although the Satyam episode invited close scrutiny of the corporate governance norms and practices that were prevalent in India, there is some evidence that it has acted as a wakeup call in enhancing board practices. As Arun Duggal observes in a recent Wall Street Journal column: The first reaction of corporate boards when Satyam blew in January 2009 was to have an independent verification that...
Recent Comments