tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163072612024-02-20T12:12:18.479+03:00TURKEY CORPORATE GOVERNANCETurkey and Corporate Governance.
Good Governance for all of us.erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-89490026633334627842012-11-20T20:08:00.002+02:002012-11-20T20:09:31.410+02:00Turkey Sets the Tone In International Corporate Governance Standards<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9e2c38dc-2742-11e2-9863-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2CmonpwpS" target="_blank">Investment grade</a> was not a surprise for the analysts who closely tracked the positive developments in Turkey. This decision was more than assuring the macroeconomical condition of Turkey but confirming the improvements in the governance structure of economy management. To give an example; implementation of mandatory electronic voting to promote better corporate governance of listed companies has been unique to Turkey. A very detailed<a href="http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/corpgov/2012/11/06/istanbul-stock-exchange-moves-first-on-mandatory-electronic-voting/" target="_blank"> article</a> is written on the subject by Melsa Ararat and Muzaffer Eroglu of Sabanci University. </div>
erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-76938934874879494202011-07-28T11:08:00.006+03:002011-07-28T14:50:44.860+03:00Do Corporate Governance Index Companies Outperform Others? : Evidence From Turkey<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdNV6RynNqQTlc6uCvPTEgmfAiw9a5Gx5nb0uOOcIKz6QCV_lS-JS9-LshVvUPd22R-Q0NWp4l2Hhew3PjB49NYNmqREo17HNPNk5lQnAsqVcDqf2uAwn3qSkzxLrRcXo_q1byg/s1600/Untitled.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdNV6RynNqQTlc6uCvPTEgmfAiw9a5Gx5nb0uOOcIKz6QCV_lS-JS9-LshVvUPd22R-Q0NWp4l2Hhew3PjB49NYNmqREo17HNPNk5lQnAsqVcDqf2uAwn3qSkzxLrRcXo_q1byg/s320/Untitled.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634361742062135202" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">A recent academic work conducted by Evren Dilek Sengur from Istanbul University showed that companies that are part of Corporate Governance Index have no difference than their peers listed in ISE-50 index in terms of performance calculated in ROA & TobinQ.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Analysis conducted with the 31 companies listed in Corporate Governance Index (corporate governance index companies) and 36 companies listed in ISE-50 which are not listed in Corporate Governance Index (non-corporate governance index companies).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However in 2011, corporate governance index have outperformed ISE-100 index by 5% so far.</div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-91990914307161402992010-05-04T19:21:00.003+03:002010-05-04T19:31:49.392+03:00Never Ending Story<div align="justify">QVT Fund ("QVT"), an approximately 7.15% shareholder of Galatasaray Sportif Sinai ve Ticari Yatirimlar A.S. ("Sportif"), disclosed that it had sought to include in Sportif's May3, 2010 General Assembly Meeting agenda measures intended to provide for an open and transparent disclosure of the improper loans and other actions of Sportif's Board of Directors, including violations of Sportif's Articles of Association, directives from the Capital Market's Board and Turkish Law.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">More details are stated in <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/galatasaray-sportifs-board-blocks-qvt-initiative-for-enhanced-disclosure-corporate-governance-reform-and-recovery-of-inappropriate-loans-92740149.html">QVT's letter</a>s to Members of the Board of Directors of Galatasary Sportif.</div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-43171662730525868912010-01-02T13:55:00.004+02:002010-01-02T14:11:19.432+02:00Third International Corporate Governance Summit<div style="text-align: justify;">Corporate Governance Association of Turkey is one of the key players promoting corporate governance in Turkey. Beyond all structural problems apparent in Turkish corporate environment, Capital Markets Board of Turkey advocates good governance for listed companies. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Third International Corporate Governance Summit will take place on January 14th 2010, with particular emphasis on "corporate governance for competitiveness". </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The question is that are the publicly traded companies in Turkey do really understand importance of corporate governance. Answer is easy to observe, please check how many sponsors do corporate governance summit have? </div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-1698380539022594542009-09-27T22:29:00.004+03:002009-09-27T22:58:42.505+03:00Capital Markets Board of Turkey to sue executives of publicly traded company<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; line-height: 15px; ">Turkish media baron Aydin Dogan and three Dogan executives caused losses to Dogan-owned media companies Hurriyet Gazetecilik (<span id="symbol_HURGZ.IS_0" style="cursor: pointer; "><a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=HURGZ.IS" style="color: rgb(0, 90, 132); text-decoration: none; ">HURGZ.IS</a></span>) and Dogan Gazetecilik are to be sued by the Capital Markets Board said in a bulletin on its website dated September 25th, 2009. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 5px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 5px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-186578-tl-376-billion-tax-fine-jolts-dogan.html">The Capital Markets Board (SPK) accused four executives of Hurriyet Gazetecilik and Dogan Gazetecilik for intentionally causing losses </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-186578-tl-376-billion-tax-fine-jolts-dogan.html">by purchasing paper and publishing supplies from offshore companies. This action just followed t</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-186578-tl-376-billion-tax-fine-jolts-dogan.html">he Finance Ministry's punishing fine of TL 3.76 billion ($2.53 billion) on Doğan Yayın Holding for evading tax regarding its accounts for a time period covering 2005, 2006 and 2007. </a></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Beyond all ongoing discussions, from good governance point of view this situation seriously damaged and will damage investors who owns stock shares of Dogan Group companies. It is for sure that there are serious lessons to be taken from this unfortunate development. </span></span></div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-30887091227858634142009-05-15T17:08:00.002+03:002009-05-19T21:53:10.062+03:00Turkey should align its laws with that of its European counterpar<p class="western" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Turkey should align its laws with that of its European counterparts, and particularly the European Directives on Takeover Bids</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia;"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A </span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><u><a href="http://www.ebrd.com/pubs/legal/lit09e13.pdf"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">recent study</span></span></span></a></u></span><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> prepared by </span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><u><a href="http://www.gide.com/front/EN/home.htm"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Gide Loyrette Nouel</span></span></span></a></u></span><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, an international law firm, and published by </span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><u><a href="http://ebrdalerts.com/cgi-bin/log_click.pl?gl_sub=54353&gl_shid=328&mode=DOENC&log=__LAST_ID__&link_clicked=52616e646f6d4956c6cba95a5fabdb295bffb9ab60c31a54dc240c495e59cb4cbf45be38a44fc36fe20326ca676c7d6559342e37f126f4812f52895770c1f327"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">EBRD</span></span></span></a></u></span><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> in May 2009 discusses that capital markets regulations as well as justice system in the context of mandatory tender offer are still not sufficient to deliver rights and justice.</span></span></span></span></b></span></span></p><p class="western" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Capital Markets Board has the regulatory responsibility to protect shareholders of publicly traded companies in Turkey. Indirect acquisitions are not expressly </span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><u><a href="http://www.ebrd.com/pubs/legal/lit09e13.pdf"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">regulated under the CMB regulations</span></span></span></a></u></span><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. However the CMB has adopted a practice in indirect acquisitions of calculating the offer price based on the weighted average exchange trading price of the shares of the listed subsidiary for the three-month period before the date of the acquisition triggering the tender offer.”</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Here is a significant example from the study published by EBRD to show how regulations are lacking to guide market participants.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><u><a href="http://www.finansbank.com.tr/"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Finansbank</span></span></span></a></u></span><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> in April 2006 officially announced that </span></span></span><a href="http://www.emii.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1019909#searchlink#searchlink"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">National Bank of Greece</span></span></span></a><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> signed agreement to purchase a 46% stake in Turkey's </span></span></span><a href="http://www.emii.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1019909#searchlink#searchlink"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Finansbank</span></span></span></a><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> from </span></span></span><a href="http://www.emii.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1019909#searchlink#searchlink"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Fiba Holding</span></span></span></a><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and </span></span></span><a href="http://www.emii.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1019909#searchlink#searchlink"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Fiba Group</span></span></span></a><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> companies for US$2.8 billion (€2.3 billion). </span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">With its decision dated December 6, 2006, the CMB approved the mandatory tender offer price proposed by the acquirer which had been calculated based on a weighted average of the subsidiary’s stock price during the three months preceding the change of control over the target. However this calculated mandatory tender offer price was lower than the actual trading price on the date of the CMB’s approval.</span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">“</span><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In relation to the acquisition of Finansbank by the National Bank of Greece one of the shareholders of the listed company of Finansbank, Finansal Kiralama A.S., </span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><u><a href="http://www.iflr.com/Article/711053/Pricing-MTOs.html"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">namely East Capital Asset Management</span></span></span></a></u></span><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> challenged the decision of the CMB claiming that the offer price should not be less than the trading price of the shares. </span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Administrative Court reviewing the matter ruled for the claimant shareholders, cancelling the CMB decision approving the tender offer with </span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><u><a href="http://www.iflr.com/Article/711053/Pricing-MTOs.html"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">immediate effect at May 16, 2008</span></span></span></a></u></span><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. The CMB initially appealed the ruling of the Administrative Court thereafter adopted a second decision requiring the purchaser, National Bank of Greece, to apply to the CMB for a second tender offer and provide with this application the calculation on the shares of the listed subsidiary. The purchaser, the National Bank of Greece, provided the valuation for the shares, but challenged the CMB decision requiring a second tender offer to be launched by filing an administrative lawsuit on the grounds, among others, that the tender offer was already completed. So to say litigation path is a long and burdensome one for the minority shareholders with no guaranteed time frame and outcome.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Market participants are still waiting </span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><u><a href="http://www.spk.gov.tr/duyurugoster.aspx?aid=2009410&subid=0&ct=c"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">draft CMB communiqué prepared in April 2009</span></span></span></a></u></span><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to be valid for further clarification.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As </span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><u><a href="http://www.ebrd.com/pubs/legal/lit09e13.pdf"><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">study</span></span></span></a></u></span><span><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> concludes it is time for Turkey to revisit and improve the protection of minority shareholders’ rights in the context of mandatory tender offer rules. In so doing, Turkey should also align its laws with that of its European counterparts, and particularly the European Directives on Takeover Bids, in line with its commitment to adopt the European Union’s a</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">cquis communautaire.</span></i></span></span></p>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-91683024267206289922009-03-06T22:47:00.003+02:002009-03-06T22:53:06.357+02:00IIRA and TCR in Turkish market deal(5/3/2009)<div align="justify">Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has entered into a cooperative agreement with Turk Credit Rating Agency (TCR). Under this agreement, TCR will introduce IIRA’s products and services to the Turkish market, according to a press release on the IIRA’s website. Based in Manama Bahrain, IIRA is a regional rating agency which started its operations in 2005. IIRA claims it is completely independent and transparent, and follows a “consistent methodical and rigorous analytical process consistent with international best practice.”</div><div align="justify"><br />IIRA is recognised by Central Bank of Bahrain as an External Credit Assessment Institution and is also on the list of approved rating agencies by the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia. Since its inception, IIRA said it has been expanding its client base and organisational capability to carry out rating assignments and currently has clients in many countries including Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, Turkey, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia. Turkish Credit Rating Agency (full name TCR Kurumsal Yonetim ve Kredi Derecelendirme Hizmetleri), is based in Istanbul and is incorporated under the regulatory framework of the Capital Markets Board in Turkey. The company was established in mid-2007, and received its credit rating and corporate governance rating licenses in mid-2007 and mid-2008, respectively. IIRA recently completed its sovereign rating of Turkey, subsequent to which it assigned a credit rating to one of the leading participation banks in Turkey. The management of IIRA and TCR believe that the efforts of both the parties under this cooperative agreement and technical cooperation will bring more awareness about ratings and will contribute to development of a healthy rating culture in the Turkish market</div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-16239260573775571052009-01-10T18:54:00.006+02:002009-01-10T19:24:18.008+02:00New Step For Advanced Transparency in Turkey<div align="justify">In what is a first for Turkey, in an attempt to establish transparency in capital markets and to inform investors about the fiscal situation and financial performance of companies whose shares are publicly traded, the Capital Markets Board of Turkey, or SPK, will keep an eye on salaries of chief executives.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Turkish Capital Market Board (SPK) will examine salaries of chief executive officers which were kept secret so far. The board will fine the company that would not give information about financial earnings of key executives. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">--------------------------</div><div align="justify"><br />DUYURU 2.<br />Sermaye Piyasasında Finansal Raporlamaya İlişkin Esaslar Tebliği’ne göre (Seri:XI, No: 29) finansal tablo hazırlamakla yükümlü şirketler tarafından kilit yönetici personele sağlanan menfaatlerin finansal tablo dipnotlarında açıklanıp açıklanmadığına ilişkin yapılan inceleme sonucunda; Kurulumuzun Seri:XI, No:29 sayılı Tebliği’ne göre finansal tablo düzenleyen şirketlerin, finansal tablolarının dipnotlarında kilit yönetici personele sağlanan menfaatler ile ilgili yeterli bilgi verilmesi konusunda gerekli dikkat ve özenin gösterilmesi ve bundan sonra konu ile ilgili gerekli açıklamaları yapmayan şirketler hakkında ilgili mevzuata aykırılık kapsamında işlem yapılacağı hususlarında Kurulumuz Haftalık Bülteni vasıtasıyla uyarılmalarına karar verilmiştir.</div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-39776810889491637672008-04-26T12:00:00.003+03:002008-04-26T12:18:29.048+03:00Scrapping Founder Shares<div align="justify">Garanti Bank is going to repurchase founder share certificates (with having right to receive 10 % of payable dividend and without having voting rights). <a href="http://www.garantibank.com/investor_relations/presentations/press_220408_2.pdf">Bank decided to eliminate the founder share certificates to eliminate the negative impact they have over the market value of the Bank's shares.</a> Founder shares of the Bank are entitled to a significant cash flow out of Bank's earnings, redemption will enable Garanti Bank to unburden cash outflows, higher retained earnings will help finance high growth of the Bank, which will create value of Garanti Bank shareholders. Ordinary shareholders will be able to receive dividends from a larger pool of distributable profit. Currently cash outflows to Founder shareholders exerted a downward pressure on Garanti Bank share price as the Founder dividends penalized ordinary shareholders. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><a href="http://governanceturkey.blogspot.com/2007/01/complying-with-one-share-one-vote.html">Same kind of procedure had been undertaken by Akbank in 2005.</a></div><div align="justify"><br />A wide range of dual-class structures exist in Turkish corporate environment. Dual share structures are unfair and give economic power to superior shareholders while facing the same financial risk with minority ones.</div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-67927590547452704692008-03-20T14:16:00.000+02:002008-03-20T14:18:32.022+02:00Move to Improve Corporate Governance in Turkey<div align="justify">After a long period of time, Capital Markets Board of Turkey made a move to improve corporate governance environment. Capital Markets Board of Turkey published several new rules that will help publicly traded companies to give more emphasis on corporate governance principles. Capital Markets Board of Turkey (CMB) issued “Corporate Governance Principles” in July 2003 and revised in February 2005. Although previously it was left to companies to be compliant with corporate governance principles, new rules are obligatory for all publicly traded companies.<br /><br />The importance of the new coming rules and guidelines were introduced in a CMB statement. According to the new rules publicly traded companies are required to disclose related party transactions exceeding 10 % of company’s sales or assets, have investor relations department and to employ licensed investor relations manager.</div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-38713794678344107172008-03-03T09:12:00.001+02:002008-03-03T09:14:46.534+02:00Updated Corporate Governance Score - VESTEL<div align="justify">ISS assigned a corporate governance rating score of 8.5 (82.57%) to Vestel, up from last year's 7.5 (75.91%) level. ISS, the world's leading provider of corporate governance and proxy voting solutions, assigned a corporate governance rating score of 8.5 (82.57%) to Vestel, up from last year’s 7.5 (75.91%) level. ISS Corporate Services stated in its report that the rating reflected the very good overall performance of the company regarding its current corporate governance structures as measured against the Principles of the Turkish Capital Markets Board (CMB). Vestel scored particularly well in its Stakeholders standards, slightly lower on its Board of Directors practices. </div><div align="justify"><br /><a class="main_link" href="http://www.vestelinvestorrelations.com/management/pdf/Vestel_CGrating27feb2008.pdf" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the report.</div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-15780107278790729762008-03-03T08:44:00.005+02:002008-03-06T08:31:56.268+02:00ISS assigned a corporate governance score to SekerbankISS Corporate Services, the corporate governance research house, has awarded <a href="http://www.sekerbank.com.tr/english/ratings.jsp">Sekerbank</a> 7.1 out of 10.0 rating for its corporate governance. This is the first rating ISS has awarded a Turkish finance institution. The rating is based on the corporate governance regulations issued by Turkey's Capital Markets Board (SPK) in July 2003. Companies that get a rating of 7.0 or above out of 10 from ISS Corporate Services can be included in the Corporate Governance Index of Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB).<br />So far seven listed companies have been rated in accordance with CMB corporate governance rules. These are; <a href="http://www.dyh.com.tr/eng/download/DYH%20CMB%20CG%20Rating%20070801.pdf">Dogan Yayin Holding</a> (DYHOL.TI), <a href="http://www.hurriyetkurumsal.com/tr/download/Hurriyet_ICS_CMBCGrating_24Sep2007.pdf">Hurriyet Gazetecilik</a> (HURGZ.TI), <a href="http://www.tofas.com.tr/eng/pdf/tofas_revizyon1.pdf">Tofas </a>(TOASO.TI), <a href="http://www.turktraktor.com.tr/images/tr/Türk%20Traktör%20Rapor%20Turkish%20FINAL.pdf">Turk Traktor</a> (TTRAK.TI), <a href="http://www.tupras.com.tr/file.php?lFileID=807">Tupras </a>(TUPRS.TI), <a href="http://www.vestelinvestorrelations.com/management/pdf/Vestel_CGrating27feb2008.pdf">Vestel</a> (VESTL.TI), <a href="http://www.ihlasgyo.com.tr/belgeler/SAHA_Y&Y_rapor2.pdf">Y&Y GYO </a>(YYGYO.TI).erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-34966694566743080692007-11-02T21:31:00.000+02:002007-11-02T21:53:00.334+02:00Tracking Progress: A Look at Turkish Governance Developments<div style="text-align: justify;">In a recent bulletin published by <a href="http://www.riskmetrics.com/">Risk Metrics Group</a>, governance develeopments over the past year in Turkey is reviewed through an interview with good governance advocate <a href="http://www.sabanciuniv.edu/tr/?rehber/rehber_detay.php?Sicil=580">Melsa Ararat.</a><br />In the interview, Ararat has underlined the fact that Turkish companies are reluctant to disclose ownership structure and relationships between the companies and the subsidaries. Another important issue is that of shareholder agreements between controlling shareholders in M&A transactions. Interview provides important insights into current of Turkish Corporate Governance.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">More is available at <a href="http://www.riskmetrics.com/pdf/kosmas_cgb_sept_2007.pdf">http://www.riskmetrics.com/pdf/kosmas_cgb_sept_2007.pdf</a></div></div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-12550477142305945282007-10-21T22:57:00.000+03:002007-10-21T23:19:47.649+03:00The Approach of Turkish Workforce Ethics Survey 2007<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.tedmer.org.tr/ing/">Ethical Values Foundation of Turkey</a> has released the results of "The Approach of Turkish Workforce to Ethics" survey. The objective of the survey is to find out the approach of Turkish workforce to ethics and corruption in general and to business ethics in general. One of the striking result of the survey is that 49.4 % of the respondents find business environment in Turkey unethical.<br /><br /></div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-81926350655392424372007-10-21T21:55:00.000+03:002007-10-21T22:20:02.317+03:00Do Corporate Governance, Independent Boards & Auditors Affect Market And Financial Performance:An Application To Istanbul Stock Exchange<div style="text-align: justify;">In a recent <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=996718">study</a>, level of implementation of the corporate governance principles by Turkish listed companies and the intermediary institutions are analyzed in detail.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">"The Evaluation of the Questionnaire Results"</span><br />• Out of the total 513 traded companies and member firms of the ISE, 358 of them have responded to the questionnaire. 52% of the respondents have replied that they were aware of corporate governance principles and standards.<br />• The majority of the board members are also appointed at several other companies belonging to the same group.<br /></span> </div><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >• A kinship exists between the board members and major shareholders. Such relationship is at a higher level in the ISE member firms, in particular.<br />• The financial rights of board members are not performance-based, to a great extent, in Turkey.<br />• The major shareholders decide on the appointment of the board members and key executives.<br />• The disclosure requirements for companies traded on the ISE are well developed.<br />• Programs for promoting employee share ownership have not yet become widespread.<br />• Members of the board of directors do not utilize, to a great extent, their authority to restrict pre-emptive rights of the existing shareholders in capital actions.<br />• Voting rights are classified into different groups in only 17% of the ISE trading companies and member firms.<br />• Setting up employees’ foundations and funds are not widespread among the traded companies.<br />• The roles of the chairman and the executive at the top level who is responsible of operations, i.e., the chief executive officer, have not been separated. Examples of such a distinction are limited.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">• It is not common to nominate independent members in the board of directors</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >• The effectiveness of the legal auditors appointed pursuant to the Turkish Commercial Code should be increased.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >• It is more common for the ISE traded companies to issue preferred stocks compared with the ISE member firms.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >• An inspection department exists approximately within 20% of all the companies operating in both the manufacturing and financial sectors.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">• The classification of voting rights into different groups and issuance of preferred stocks in </span><span style="font-style: italic;">the financial sector is three times higher than in the manufacturing industry.</span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >• The financial and market performance of those companies that have implemented corporate governance principles is higher than those which have implemented corporate governance to a lesser degree."</span><br /><br />Moreover researchers have come to the conlusion that a linear relationship exists between the companies’ performances that increase in the positive direction and the implementation of corporate governance principles.<br /></div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-35690473757781914072007-09-26T21:35:00.000+03:002007-09-26T21:43:56.457+03:00First Turkish media firm rated for corporate governance<div style="text-align: justify;">ISS Corporate Services, the corporate governance research house, has awarded <a href="http://www.hurriyetkurumsal.com/eng/default.asp">Hürriyet</a> an 8.0 out of 10.0 rating for its corporate governance. ISS is a subsidiary of the London-based RiskMetrics Group. This is the first rating ISS has awarded a Turkish print media institution. Justin Reynolds, director at ISS, told the Turkish Daily News that ISS makes the research on the basis of thorough evaluation of four areas of corporate governance. “We assess the rights and duties of shareholders, the firm's commitment to shareholder value, transparency and corporate governance disclosure as well as accountability, i.e. board structure and the way it functions,” he said.The rating is based on the corporate governance regulations issued by Turkey's Capital Markets Board (SPK) in July 2003. Companies that get a rating of 7.0 or above out of 10 from ISS Corporate Services can be included in the Corporate Governance Index of Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB).“<br /><div style="text-align: left;">Report is available at official <a href="http://www.hurriyetkurumsal.com/eng/download/Hurriyet_ICS_CMBCGrating_24Sep2007.pdf">website</a> of Hurriyet<br /></div><br /></div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-15281373852935266572007-09-07T22:32:00.000+03:002007-09-07T22:37:17.365+03:00Dogan Yayın Holding’s national corporate governance rating score has been increased<div style="text-align: justify;">Dogan Yayın Holding’s national corporate governance rating score has been increased to 8,5 from 8,0 over 10 by “ISS Corporate Services, Inc. (ISS)”, the leading global corporate governance rating organization.<br />In Turkey, corporate governance rating activities are performed in compliance with the “Corporate Governance Principles” issued in July 2003 and revised in February 2005 by the Capital Markets Board of Turkey (CMB). CMB Corporate Governance Principles are in compliance with ‘OECD Corporate Governance Principles,’ issued by OECD in 2004; furthermore, the document includes the country-specific principles and practices in accordance with OECD recommendations.<br />As from the issue of CMB Corporate Governance Principles in 2003, Dogan Yayın Holding has performed significant action with the aim of accommodating the company and its publicly listed companies with the corporate governance principles and pursue its organizational structure and activities to this effect.<br />ISS has highly rated the ‘public disclosure and transparency’ sub-category activities of Doğan Yayın Holding by assigning 9,5 over 10.<br />Mr. Mehmet Ali Yalçındağ, the CEO of Doğan Yayın Holding emphasizing the importance of corporate governance practices, stated that: “best practice approaches will help companies to increase their reputation and is key to sustainability and consistency; while there is an increasing interest in Turkish companies and as we are in The EU accession period, companies that achieve both financial performance and good governance will draw attention and be upfront”. In his interview he also mentioned that, the work done has started to create permanent results and the following has been stated: “as being a company, with its corporate governance practices, presented as a case study this year in the ICCA’s 2nd International Conference on the Globalization and the Good Corporation, Doğan Yayın Holding is to be included in the Corporate Governance Index to be issued by ISE; perpetuating the leading position in this field and changing into a global unique example for the media organizations worldwide .</div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-3788270215631769772007-09-07T21:30:00.000+03:002007-09-07T21:46:11.945+03:00Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets<div style="text-align: justify;">On behalf of the Organizing Commitee, <a href="http://www.sabanciuniv.edu/tr/?rehber/rehber_detay.php?Sicil=580">Melsa Ararat</a> and <a href="http://www.sabanciuniv.edu/tr/?rehber/rehber_detay.php?Sicil=B00261">Burcin Yurtoglu</a> have announced the forthcoming international Conference on <strong>Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets</strong> which will take place in Istanbul, Turkey from 15-17 November 2007. The conference is organized by the Global Corporate Governance Forum (GCGF) and Asian Institute of Corporate Governance (AICG).<br /><br />This conference which will take place at the campus of Sabanci University in Istanbul from 15-17 November 2007 will debate some key issues regarding corporate governance in emerging markets, including political power and corporate control, the relationship between financial sector development and corporate governance, the role of corporate boards in emerging markets and issues related to enforcement mechanisms.<br /><br />Programme of the conference can be reached at http://www.emcgn2007.com/default.aspx<strong><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></strong><br /><strong></strong></div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-35538427081538782062007-07-05T07:29:00.000+03:002007-07-05T07:35:18.031+03:00Fitch Report: Corporate Governance - The Turkish Perspective<div style="text-align: justify;">Fitch Ratings says in a special report that significant emphasis is placed on corporate governance when assigning ratings to Turkish corporates. Weak corporate governance is perceived as a negative rating factor and may restrict a company's rating, regardless of how strong its financial profile may seem.<br /><p>Following the wave of macroeconomic restructuring in Turkey in the wake of the 2001 financial crisis, and the privatisation trend of the last decade, many major Turkish corporates have materially improved their corporate governance practices, driven primarily by their expansion and integration within the international capital markets. Visible progress has been achieved in transparency, particularly with regard to financial information disclosure and ownership structures. However, challenges remain with regard to board quality and related-party transactions due to the predominance of family ownership, combined with wealth concentration and sometimes complex ownership structures.<br /></p><p>Turkey is currently implementing structural reforms and striving to improve its corporate governance as part of its long-term strategy to prepare for European Union membership. Fitch expects that the long-awaited Turkish Commercial Code will increase investor focus on corporate governance and improve transparency of ownership structures as well as intra-group transactions, key areas in Fitch's corporate analytical work.</p> <p>Fitch believes that companies with poor corporate governance tend to have lower ratings. While it is important to emphasise that no single factor, but rather a combination of factors, determines a rating, weak governance tends to be pervasive and have a negative impact on business operations, and consequently on financial performance - which is then reflected in the rating. </p> <p>Fitch's full report 'Corporate Governance - The Turkish Perspective' is available on the agency's public website at '<a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.fitchratings.com/" target="_blank">http://www.fitchratings.com/</a>'. </p></div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-23461874807426355912007-06-08T21:05:00.000+03:002007-06-08T21:31:02.291+03:00TOFAS Declared Corporate Governance Rating<p><strong>SAHA Kurumsal Yönetim ve Kredi Derecelendirme Hizmetleri A.Ş. has declared the corporate governance rating of TOFAŞ Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş. as 75.72 (7.57 over 10). This has proven that the Company showed a good performance within the scope of the existing Corporate Governance applications in accordance with the Corporate Governance Principles of CMB.</strong></p> <p>As a result of the Corporate Governance Rating Report consisting of 4 main titles in accordance with the Corporate Governance Principles of the Capital Market Board, namely; Shareholders, Public Information and Transparency, Stakeholders and Board of Directors, <strong>Tofaş is rated with 7.57 over 10 as a general average.</strong></p> <p>The evaluation is based on the Corporate Governance Principles of CMB issued on the basis of OECD regulations.</p> <p>This has proven that Tofaş showed the value and importance attached to the public and its shareholders by implementing the Corporate Governance applications.</p> <p>The issuance of report has finalized one of the prerequisites on implementation of Corporate Governance Index that will become an important reference with regards to compliance of Companies listed in Istanbul Stock Exchange with the Corporate Governance Principles.</p>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-80970507840216268852007-05-10T22:18:00.000+03:002007-05-10T23:29:51.767+03:00Corporate Governance: Turkish Transparency And Disclosure Survey 2007<div style="text-align: justify;">Standard & Poor's Governance Services and the Corporate Governance Forum of Turkey (CGFT) at Sabanci University in Istanbul monitored and assessed corporate response to regulation and market circumstances by conducting the survey over three successive years with the objective of providing a comparative insight into the disclosure practices of Turkish companies.<br /><br />According to the results of the survey transparency and disclosure practices at leading Turkish companies have improved only marginally since 2006.<br /><br />Report underlines some important issues for International Investors:<br /><br />- Companies' articles of association, which were not usually disclosed in the past, are now increasingly becoming available on companies' Web sites as recommended by the Capital Markets Board of Turkey. This is particularly important as the shareholders' rights are primarily governed by the articles of association.<br /><br />- Some companies have multiple classes of shares, with shareholders' agreements between the<br />holders of different classes. We observed no disclosure of such agreements.<br /><br />- Given the typical family ownership structure of Turkish companies, the assignment of the right to nominate board members is particularly important for noncontrolling shareholders. Board nomination is a shareholder right according to Turkish company law. Any voting agreements between major shareholders must therefore be clearly disclosed and/or articulated in the articles of association. Only one company disclosed board nomination processes.<br /><br />- It is fairly common for representatives (often executives) of holding companies to sit on the boards of subsidiary companies with an explicit mandate to deliver/impose the policies of the holding company. We observed no disclosure of such policies or practices, which raises concerns about the role and effectiveness of subsidiary boards within holding structures.<br /><br />Lis of Top Performers<br /><br /><table str="" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 582pt;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="777"><col style="width: 194pt;" span="3" width="259"> <tbody><tr style="height: 14.25pt;" height="19"> <td class="xl24" style="height: 14.25pt; width: 194pt;" num="" height="19" width="259">2007</td> <td class="xl24" style="border-left: medium none; width: 194pt;" num="" width="259">2006</td> <td class="xl24" style="border-left: medium none; width: 194pt;" num="" width="259">2005</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 14.25pt;" height="19"> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; height: 14.25pt;" height="19"><a href="http://www.akbank.com.tr/">Akbank T.A.S.</a></td> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; border-left: medium none;"><a href="http://www.akbank.com.tr/">Akbank T.A.S.</a></td> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; border-left: medium none;"><a href="http://www.akbank.com.tr/">Akbank T.A.S.</a></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 14.25pt;" height="19"> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; height: 14.25pt;" height="19"><a href="http://www.efesbev.com/turkce/legal/legal.aspx">Anadolu Efes Biracilik ve Malt Sanayi A.S.</a></td> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; border-left: medium none;"><a href="http://www.efesbev.com/turkce/legal/legal.aspx">Anadolu Efes Biracilik ve Malt Sanayi A.S.</a></td> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; border-left: medium none;"><a href="http://www.efesbev.com/turkce/legal/legal.aspx">Anadolu Efes Biracilik ve Malt Sanayi A.S.</a></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 14.25pt;" height="19"> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; height: 14.25pt;" height="19"><a href="http://www.enka.com/">Enka Insaat ve Sanayi A.S.</a></td> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; border-left: medium none;"><a href="http://www.koc.com.tr/">Koc Holding A.S.</a></td> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; border-left: medium none;"><a href="http://www.dyh.com.tr/">Dogan Yayin Holding A.S.</a></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 14.25pt;" height="19"> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; height: 14.25pt;" height="19"><a href="http://www.koc.com.tr/">Koc Holding A.S.</a></td> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; border-left: medium none;"><a href="http://www.petkim.com.tr/">Petrokimya Holding A.S.</a></td> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; border-left: medium none;"><a href="http://www.koc.com.tr/">Koc Holding A.S.</a></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 14.25pt;" height="19"> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; height: 14.25pt;" height="19"><a href="http://www.turkcell.com.tr/">Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S.</a></td> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; border-left: medium none;"><a href="http://www.turkcell.com.tr/">Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S.</a></td> <td class="xl25" style="border-top: medium none; border-left: medium none;"><a href="http://www.turkcell.com.tr/">Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S.</a></td> </tr> </tbody></table><br />Report is available at www.ratingdirects.com and can be requested from cgft@sabanciuniv.edu<br /></div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-32553841396505108682007-04-28T10:02:00.000+03:002007-04-28T10:32:05.001+03:00Share call is announced as the condition of GALATASARAY merger<div style="text-align: justify;font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style="">Capital Markets Board of Turkey demanded that before they could accept the merger application for evaluation, Galatasaray Sportif has to make a share call. CMB stated that the share call price should not be lower than the last three month average of weighted average prices, which would be calculated as for the term prior to their initial merger announcement on 4 August 2006. Calculated price for the share call is TRY 108.5, which is 33% higher than 26/04/2007 closing of TRY 81.5.</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></div><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style=""><br /></span></span>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-82652895193876862152007-04-08T19:32:00.000+03:002007-04-08T20:34:15.494+03:00Dispute on Shareholder Rights at Galatasaray<div style="text-align: justify;">Merger application of Galatasaray Sportif AS (GSRAY.TI) with its parent company Futbol AS triggered serious dispute on shareholder rights. From 2006 to 2007, the market cap of Galatasaray Sportif AS plummetted from 230 Million USD to 121 Million USD with harming the shareholders.<br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A recent note on the dispute is coming from <a href="http://members.tripod.com/%7EWynGrant/worldsoccer.html">www.footballeconomy.com</a>; s</span>everal investors in the merchandising arm of leading Turkish club Galatasaray are locked in a dispute with the club's owner over minority shareholding rights. These investors, including several London-based fund managers, object to a proposal by the club's unlisted parent company to merge the merchandising division, known as Galatasary Sportif, with its footballing side. They claim that such a move, among other things, contradicts statements in the prospectus issued when they invested in the division that ring fenced its revenues from those of the rest of the club. QVT Financial, a $5.5bn investment management firm, that owns about $20m of Galatasary Sportif stock, has complained to the Turkish market watchdog, the Capital Markets Board. The firm, and other shareholders, want the watchdog either to block the merger or to order the parent company to buy them out at the price the stock traded at before the merger was proposed last summer, which is at least 50 per cent higher than its current share price. QVT says the CMB's approach to the merger proposal is a crucial test to verify the Turkish market's reliability in the eyes of international investors, but the watchdog seems to be more inclined to view it as a dispute between shareholders which may not break any laws.<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Possible consequences of the merger is also discussed in recent <a href="http://www.raymondjames.com.tr/english/PDFArsiv_en.aspx?tip=5">information note prepared by Raymond James Securities-Turkey at April 2nd,2007</a>. (free subscription is required)<br /><br />Sportif AS was established in 1997 to manage all marketing activites of Galatasaray Sports Club. The company generates majority of its revenues from the sale of media rights of hte Sports Club.<br /><br />Several share classes exist and the main difference between the share types is the nomination to the board and auditors. B type shares have no privileges, while A and D type shares nominate 6 and 1 members, respectively.<br /><br />37.0 % of shares are publicly traded, all are B type, and 18.2 % of free float is owned by QVT, a UK based fund.<br /></div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-80639943584615311572007-04-05T21:04:00.000+03:002007-04-05T21:18:45.089+03:00Corporate Governance Reforms in Continental Europe<div style="text-align: justify;">According to the recent research conducted by Luca Enriques and Paolo Volpin "corporate governance in continental Europe traditionally differs from that in the United States in two important ways: first, most European companies have controlling shareholders, while most American corporations are widely held; second, the regulations on self-dealing have traditionally been stricter in the United States.<br /><br />In the last 15 years, France, Germany, and Italy have enacted significant corporate law reforms to strengthen the mechanisms of internal governance, empower shareholders, enhance disclosure requirements, and toughen public enforcement. Special emphasis was placed on empowering minority shareholders and on disclosure, which are the most effective tools for countering abuses by dominant shareholders."<br /><br />The writers put particular emphasis on the reforms made to resolve the problem of related-party transactions and preventing self-dealing by controlling shareholders.<br /><br />In Turkey, concept of minority shareholder is defined very recently with Capital Markets Board's Corporate Governance Principles. <a href="http://governanceturkey.blogspot.com/2006/11/is-history-repeating-itself.html">But in the past non-controlling shareholders experienced unjust treatment.</a><br /></div>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16307261.post-15316545586332250342007-03-30T15:14:00.000+03:002007-03-30T15:21:57.608+03:00Vestel became the third ISE listed company that received a corporate governance rating score.<div style="text-align: justify;"><strong></strong>ISS, the world's leading provider of corporate governance and proxy voting solutions, assigned a <a href="http://www.vestelinvestorrelations.com/management/pdf/Vestel_ICS_CMB_CG_Rating_070301.pdf">corporate governance rating</a> score of 7.5 (75.91%) to Vestel Elektronik. ISS Corporate Services stated in its report that the rating reflected the good overall performance of the company regarding its current corporate governance structures as measured against the Principles of the Turkish Capital Markets Board (CMB). Accordingly, Vestel became the third ISE listed company that received a corporate governance rating score. </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Vestel performed satisfactorily in all of the four main components (Shareholders, Public Disclosure & Transparency, Stakeholders, Board of Directors) of the rating, though showing particular strength in its Shareholders area.<br /></p>erkenkele@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326517212536602284noreply@blogger.com