Report praises South Africa's corporate governance

A new study has rated South Africa as the top country for corporate governance out of 24 emerging markets.

The UN's working group for International Accounting and Reporting Standards ranked the nation above developing countries such as Brazil, China and India after considering aspects of corporate governance including disclosure and listing requirements, Business Day reports.

Experts claimed Mervyn King, chairman of the King Committee on Corporate Governance, should be credited with driving the major improvement South Africa has seen in this area over recent years.

Michael Katz, chairman of corporate law firm Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs, said Mr King has been "at the forefront of the corporate governance project in South Africa".

He also told the newspaper that the UN report should "provide foreign investors who deal with South African companies with much comfort".

Mr King, who is also chairman of the Global Reporting Initiative, was responsible for the publication of the influential King III report in 2009.