The Corporate Governance Center, in collaboration with the RA Ministry of Economy, Asian Development Bank, Center for International Private Enterprise, and Commercial Law Development Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce, hosted the “New RA Corporate Governance Code: Implementation and Enforcement Issues” workshop on September 24th.
The Workshop aimed not only to present the revised Corporate Governance Code but also to jointly outline the mechanisms for its implementation and enforcement, bring together the perspectives of policymakers and market participants, identify needs, and, given Armenia’s economic and cultural characteristics, identify a formula through which corporate governance would become a priority matter for Armenian companies.
Konstantin Saroyan, Warren Wilson, Don Lambert, Luiza Ayvazyan, Michael Cofield, and Narine Melikyan delivered opening remarks.
The Workshop sessions covered a range of topics, including state policy on corporate governance, with a particular focus on its alignment with economic development goals, investment attraction, and market stability. Discussions also addressed the key challenges the state faces in implementing best practices in corporate governance, strategies for curbing corruption risks through corporate governance, the role of ESG factors in shaping that policy, and key areas for improving corporate governance in state-owned enterprises.
International speakers invited to the Workshop shared their experiences with the global application of the “Comply or Explain” approach, highlighting the key drivers and objectives behind its implementation, its alignment with stricter regulatory frameworks, and the main distinctions between the two. The discussions also explored corporate governance ratings as a tool to enhance both the governance quality in companies and implementation of the “Comply or Explain” approach.
The Chairs of the Boards of leading Armenian companies discussed the Chair’s role in shaping and reinforcing the corporate governance culture, and how the new Corporate Governance Code could contribute to its enhancement.
An entire session of the Workshop was dedicated to exploring the relationship between corporate governance and constructive capital, with a specific focus on how the implementation of the new Corporate Governance Code could strengthen Armenia’s resilience against the inflow of corrosive foreign capital. Panelists discussed specific procedures to promote the inflow of constructive capital and mitigate the adverse effects of corrosive capital, all within the implementation of the new Code. Alternative mechanisms to encourage the implementation of the Code were also explored.
The Workshop concluded with an interactive exercise, where participants had the opportunity to present their approaches and key paths for implementing the Corporate Governance Code.
The Workshop featured Arman Barkhudaryan, Christine Chow, Davit Karapetyan, Don Lambert, Elena Khachvankyan, Eprem Karapetyan, Florian Sommer, Gagik Sardaryan, Grigor Hovhannissian, Guy Jubb, Hagen Schweinitz, Hasmik Ghahramanyan, Hovsep Patvakanian, Kimberly Maucher-Lynch, Konstantin Saroyan, Mike Lubrano, Narine Melikyan, Rafayel Sargsyan, Sevak Mikayelyan, and Tigran Jrbashyan as speakers and moderators.
