Corporate Governance In Colombia

This review was prepared as part of the process of Colombia's accession to OECD Membership. It describes the corporate governance setting for both listed companies in Colombia and the state-owned sector.

This report provides an overview of the challenges associated with corporate governance of company groups. Country-specific chapters look at Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

This dissertation has shown that indeed the internationalization of production systems and the globalization of the markets for goods, services and capital have triggered and intensified the competition between corporate governance systems. Similar to the competition in other economic areas, where, for example, domestic goods and factor prices tend to converge to the world prices after opening to international competition, over the years the traditionally diverse corporate governance systems have become more homogeneous. The elements, provisions and aspects where convergence has made more progress are: boards’ form and functions, strong minority shareholders’ rights, universal banking systems, bankruptcy law, the capital market as an important corporate financing source, investor-oriented accounting standards (e.g. IFRS) and employee ownership as a means to motivate staff to undertake firm-specific investments. However, convergence does not mean that the national systems have equally moved towards each other, rather the Principal-Agent model, followed by the USA, has prevailed. The main reason for the dominance of the Principal-Agent model seems to be the preponderance of the US-economy, particularly on global financial markets. Although this is not a topic of this dissertation, in the last two decades a competition between capital market- and bank-centered financial systems can be observed. The capitalmarket centered financial system, recommended by the Principal-Agent model, has gained importance, whereas the traditional leading position of credit institutions has impressively decreased.

This report reflects long-term, in-depth discussion and debate by participants in the Latin American Roundtable on Corporate Governance.

This publication provides an overview of the duties and responsibilities of boards in company groups across 45 jurisdictions. The introduction outlines the global landscape of company groups, their economic role and the principal challenges they present with respect to corporate governance polices.

This report provides an overview of frameworks and experience in Latin America and internationally in dealing with the challenges associated with corporate governance of company groups. It describes their economic rationale, benefits and relevance in Latin America, and how they are defined, overseen and regulated. It also delves into some of the risks and more specific challenges involved in ensuring protection of minority shareholder rights and managing or minimising conflicts of interest within groups. It notes the rising importance of Latin American-based multinational company groups. Finally, it reviews existing international and regional guidance on corporate governance of company groups before assessing the more specific policy options and challenges in the region, and describing the conclusions reached by the Latin American Corporate Governance Roundtable and Task Force on Company Groups based on this report's findings. Country-specific chapters provide more specific descriptions of the frameworks in place for corporate governance of company groups in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Grounded in institutional theories, this volume offers a framework for understanding the evolution of corporate governance in the six leading Latin American countries, namely Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Applying inductive qualitative methods, it postulates the notion of governing as a dynamic, emergent and contextual process and traces its evolution and adaption to the different configurations of institutional logics in each country and the region as a whole over several decades. Adopting corporate governance scandals as the lens through which to observe institutional change in each country, this book reveals the sources of societal transformations, identifying key lessons as well as meaningful setbacks along the way. This edited collection helps appreciate the role and interactions of corporate elites, stakeholders and watchdogs, including the visible hands of government and multinational corporations, presenting comparisons across the countries, the region and the broader evolution of governing practices around the globe. The result is a book combining scholarly rigor and practical relevance, looking to serve as an emerging markets benchmark guide for practitioners, researchers and thinktanks alike.

This review provides an analytical perspective of the current situation, including the construction of a database, in order to help the Greek government define reforms to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and fairness of selected social programmes. The review identifies gaps and overlaps in social protection, and highlights areas where there is room for significant efficiency gains, in order to support informed and concrete decisions by the Greek government on where budgetary savings can most appropriately be made, taking into account the balance between societal groups and the need to maintain social cohesion.