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NSE, CBI launch Corporate Governance Rating System

By on November 5, 2014

As part of efforts to improve perception of trust in the nation’s capital market, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in conjunction with the Convention on Business Integrity (CBi)  on Monday launched the  Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS) in Nigeria.

CGRS  was designed to rate companies listed on the NSE based on their corporate governance and anti-corruption culture.

The process leading to the launch of the CGRS has been on  since last year. Speaking at the event in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said with the  CGRS, it was anticipated that there would be an improvement in the overall perception of capital markets and business practices.

“It is expected that companies will enjoy tangible business advantages from risk-oriented and/or ethically sensitive business partners and investors. In addition, competitors would be challenged to establish the same level of good governance by setting standards of excellence. Companies would not only set themselves apart from their peers, but also contribute to improving the climate for doing business in Nigeria,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, the Executive Director of CBI, Mr. Soji Apampa said the pilot phase of the CGRS  was done between May 2013 and September 2014.“The rating system is based on a holistic multi-stakeholder approach that uses a diverse information collection and verification approach, which relies not only on self-assessments of companies but also on experiences of stakeholders and experts. It is envisioned to be more transparent on rating procedures and rating governance than other Corporate Governance indices”, Apampa said.

According to him, the Humboldt-Viadrini  School of Governance (Berlin/Germany) was appointed as the international Observer to review and support the process of establishing Nigeria’s corporate governance.The CGRS launch attracted over 500 corporate sector participants joined by government and civil society delegates from Nigeria and across the globe.He said the CGRS framework had been designed to evaluate companies based on the quality of corporate integrity, corporate compliance, understanding of fiduciary responsibilities by directors and corporate reputation among others.

 

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