The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) held a meeting in Paris on Corporate Governance on March 28, which featured a special roundtable on flexibility and proportionality of corporate governance. Business at OECD (BIAC) attended the meeting and expressed strong support for the effective implementation of the G20/OECD Corporate Governance Principles. USCIB member Dan Konigsburg, managing director, corporate governance and public policy, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu attended these meetings.

BIAC also provided input to discussions on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) earlier this month, highlighting the need for transparency and a global level playing field, and calling for good practices for anti-corruption and integrity in SOEs. USCIB contributed comments to BIAC’s advocacy effort, reflecting priorities that transparency, including on the governance structure and the precise nature of the advantages SOEs enjoy, is a crucial first step for ensuring a level playing field.

“SOEs have become increasingly active in the global market place, with the highest percentage of the world’s largest first effectively under state control in decades. Transparency alone, however does not automatically level the playing field, and should merely be considered the minimum requirement for any good faith effort for SOEs to compete in the global market,” said Eva Hampl, USCIB’s director for investment, trade and financial services.