Corporate governance in emerging markets in asia: Corporate managers' perspectives

Abstract

Good corporate governance ensures that managers provide all stakeholders with the information needed to make well-informed decisions. Western governments have enacted regulations designed to ensure the availability to accurate and timely information. While many developing countries have passed similar laws, the extent of their success varies. As a result, investors holding a controlling interest in a firm may not act to the benefit of non-controlling shareholders. To gain insights on the corporate mangers' view about corporate governance, the officers of 23 firms located in six developing countries in Asia were interviewed. The survey shows that there is a widespread agreement on the benefits of good corporate governance. And to a large extent, firms are taking steps to make their decision making ethical and transparent. The influence of government regulators, pressures from foreign investors and the firms' internal desire to practice good management are working to continually improve corporate governance.