Corporate governance priorities established in Malaysia

Several new priority areas for the development of corporate governance guidelines in Asia were identified at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur last week.

The event, which brought together a working group for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD's) Asian Roundtable on Corporate Governance, was hosted by the Malaysian Securities Commission (MSC) and Bursa Malaysia.

According to the Malaysia Star, a statement from the MSC revealed the discussion focused on improving corporate disclosures, clarifying the role of stakeholders and reducing the gap between standards and performance.

Observers at the meeting included representatives of the International Corporate Governance Network, the World Bank and the Asian Corporate Governance Association.

The Asian Roundtable of Corporate Governance was established by the OECD and the Japanese government as a regional forum for the discussion of governance reform.

Recent meetings have focused on prospective changes to the OECD's white paper on corporate governance in Asia, which was last updated in 2003.