This news article is published by Myanmar Times.

The Advisory Committee for Corporate Governance Reform in Myanmar has announced its endorsement of a new corporate governance notification.

Last year, the committee, which was formed by the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry, had intense discussions to improve corporate governance in Myanmar.

As its first initiative, the committee endorsed the draft corporate governance notification that covers key areas including internal control systems, audit committees, independent directors, and disclosure. 

The corporate governance notification is meant to be applied to listed companies and public companies with more than 100 shareholders. 

After legislative approval, the corporate governance notification is expected to be published by this April and become effective in October. 

“With this notification, investor confidence in Myanmar’s capital markets will be boosted and this will increase economic efficiencies. We will continue to strive to enhance corporate governance and contribute to the further development of capital markets in the country,’’ U Aung Naing Oo, acting chair of the Advisory Committee for Corporate Governance Reform and permanent secretary of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations.

The Myanmar Corporate Governance Scorecard 2018 published by the International Finance Corporation in cooperation with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar, the Yangon Stock Exchange and the Directorate of Company Investment and Company Administration showed that Myanmar firms scored an average of 30 percent, compared to the ASEAN average of 69pc on corporate governance.

There are six companies listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange and around 250 public companies registered in Myanmar.