Business & Money | Monday 11 February, 2019 2:00 am |

Public Disclosure and Transparency are essential elements of a robust Corporate Governance Framework as they provide the base for informed decision making by shareholders, stakeholders and potential investors in relation to capital allocation, corporate transactions and financial performance monitoring. The Importance of transparency has been widely recognized by both academics and market regulators, resulting in numerous rules and regulations being introduced by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) to ensure timely and reliable disclosure of financial information, creating the standards  and procedures for corporate governance of companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), especially in “Public Disclosure & Transparency”, so as to strengthen its standing in the international market.

Today, the CMA’s initiative to enhance “Public Disclosure & Transparency” is taking on a new meaning of more comprehensive and proactive disclosures instead of the release of corporate governance details or policies in a ‘reactive’ fashion. The new adopted concept of transparency putting more responsibilities on the listed companies not only let the truth be available to the public but imposes to disclose it to every stakeholder.

--- Declaration Policies

The Corporate Governance Center (CGC) at the College of Business of Alfaisal University issues an annual report which includes The Corporate Governance Index (CGI) that is based solely on the sound Corporate Governance principles as set by the CMA, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the most recent report, the second annual ratings, covering the 2016 fiscal year, ranked “Bupa Arabia” first under the “Public Disclosure & Transparency” category, highlighting the Company’s success in this area.

“Bupa Arabia” ensures robust public disclosure and transparency, in both Arabic and English, through a variety of mediums, including its website, Annual Reports, Tadawul announcements, and other, and the Chief Risk Officer at “Bupa Arabia”, Ali F. Hamdan, pointed out that good governance is essential for Saudi publicly listed companies in the increasingly competitive global market, in particular that public disclosure and transparency is one of the most important principles of corporate governance.

--- Risk Reduction

Transparency and strong corporate governance are needed in both domestic and international transactions and at all phases of investment. With CMA new rules and regulations, companies have no choice but to push for good, transparent data availability. Rapid transparent data is becoming integral to the establishment of a reduced risk investment environment.

Saudi Arabia plans to uplift corporate governance and transparency practices as it plays a crucial role in reducing investor risk and increasing investment flows, especially after the announcement made by the CMA, in April, that deeper corporate governance reforms are required in line with global governance standards