Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes : Corporate Governance Country Assessment, Bulgaria

World Bank

Washington, DC

关键词: ACQUISITION;    ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS;    ADVISORY SERVICES;    BALANCE SHEET;    BANKS;   

RP-ID  :  35875

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Market capitalization of the BulgarianStock Exchange is low at four percent of gross DomesticProduct, having fallen from a peak of seven percent in 1998.Similarly, market turnover remains low, even by thestandards of transition economies. However in recent years,Bulgaria has made substantive concrete improvements in itslegal and regulatory framework, in part in preparation ofaccession to the European Union. The Bulgarian NationalSecurities Commission was established in 1996 and subsequentamendments to both the commercial and securities legislationstrengthened the corporate governance framework. Inparticular, the 2001 revisions and amendments adopted inJune 2002 substantially strengthened shareholder rights for"public" companies. In addition, proposedadditional amendments will ensure pre-emptive rights ofexisting shareholders and will require legal entities todisclose both direct and indirect ownership interests inBulgarian companies, where such interests are at fivepercent or more of the company. The assessment recommendsthree additional areas of improvements: 1) Amend theCommercial Law to establish a minimum quorum forshareholders' meetings and strengthen the duties ofmembers of (supervisory) boards of directors. 2) Encourageprivate sector organizations and business associations toprepare a corporate governance code, encouraging improvedcorporate governance practices in the corporate sector. 3)Encourage the private sector to establish an Institute ofDirectors that could provide training and disseminateinternational practices for (supervisory) boards of directors.