Transparency International Pakistan convened a high-level multi-stakeholder dialogue on corporate governance and strengthening disclosure practices by the listed companies.
The dissemination event was attended by the representatives of Pakistan’s top companies, regulatory bodies including Competition Commission of Pakistan, Pakistan Stock Exchange, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Human Right, Chambers of Commerce and corporate governance experts.
Mr. Salman Amin, Member Competition Commission of Pakistan appreciated TI Pakistan’s latest report on Transparency in Corporate Reporting (TRAC) 2024 report, which revealed that the companies on average are Moderately Transparent in corporate reporting, with a score of 7.23 out of 100, where 0 is the Least Transparent and 10 is Fully Transparent.
He highlighted that the effective disclosures minimize avenues for corrupt practices such as cartel behavior. He also highlighted that transparency in procurement processes is the key and it is important that companies practice comprehensive disclosures about government contracts, including details on bidder policies, tendering processes, post award documents and audited financial accounts. Making such information publicly accessible is essential to fostering trust and accountability among stakeholders and the public.
Speakers stressed that corporate governance is well established in Pakistan and the true spirit of corporate governance is corporate integrity which must not be viewed as a compliance burden but as a governance priority. Voluntary disclosures on human rights, anti-corruption, gender equality and corporate social responsibility must be seen as essential to building trust and ensuring long-term sustainability.
Speakers also highlighted that Pakistan has been forward thinking when it comes to ESG disclosures, the real challenge is to ensure effective adoption of ESG practices through enhanced disclosures.
Mr. Majid Naeem Soofi, DG SOEs, Central Monitoring Unit, Ministry of Finance highlighted that CMU has made everything extremely transparent through publication of regular reports on corporate risks and making those reports publicly available. The objective of CMU is to give maximum information about state owned entities (SOEs) to the general public.
He highlighted that there is a need for improvement in our corporate governance ensuring independence and performance of the board. He further highlighted that the ESG standards and SECP guidelines are voluntary and CMU has recommended that climate related risks should be binding on the companies through mandatory reporting.
Ms. Khaola Batool Sherani, Deputy Director, Ministry of Human Rights highlighted that Human Rights Action Plan for Businesses requires businesses to practice human rights and due diligence.
Mr. Kashif Ali, Executive Director highlighted that TRAC assessment reveals that the lowest average score, 47.28%, was observed in anti-corruption programs, reflecting partial transparency.
The report revealed that Lucky Core Industries, Allied Bank Limited and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited were the companies which recorded the highest overall scores in the assessment. However, none of the companies achieved full overall score for transparency in disclosure practices. Whereas Colgate-Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited, MCB Bank Limited, Allied Bank Limited and Engro Corporation Limited achieved highest score for anti-corruption programmes category.
This dialogue marked an important step toward co-creating a stronger integrity ecosystem for businesses in Pakistan.
