28/11/2012
Corporate governance making progress in Asia
Corporate governance is not yet a priority at the major family-owned businesses in Hong Kong, where notable progress is still being made at publicly-traded businesses, Finance Asia reports. According to a study published a few days ago by PwC, more than three quarters of family-owned businesses in Hong Kong will continue to grow in the next three to five years, and more than half have increased their earnings in the past twelve months. These good results are, however, not driving businesses to improve in the area of corporate governance, particularly in the area of management structures or succession plans. A good way for a family business to solve this problem is to consider a listing on a regulated market, which requires better distribution of duties between shareholders and operational management. A recent study by the Hong Kong Institute of Directors and the Baptist University of Hong Kong finds that governance at businesses listed in Hong Kong has noticeably improved since 2009.
