The Regional Seminar on Corporate Governance was organised under the auspices of the APEC Financial Regulators Training Initiative programme.
In stressing the importance of corporate governance to seminar participants, the SC Deputy Chief Executive, Datin Zarinah Anwar said "good governance is a means to an end and not an end in itself".
"For firms, markets and economies alike, good governance provides a means for achieving long term stability and sustainable growth.
"Good corporate governance practices should be supplemented with the ultimate objective of realizing and maximizing shareholder value," said Datin Zarinah.
The seminar participants, comprising intermediate level staff members of financial market regulators and supervisors of APEC nations, were pleased that the seminar enabled them to acquire a greater understanding of the general approach and specific issues relating to corporate governance.
Among others, seminar participants were taken through key corporate governance-related issues such as the composition and operations of the board, the duties of the audit, nomination and compensation committees, and the importance of external auditors and consultants.
The seminar also discussed the role of self-regulatory organisations, stakeholders' rights, corporate governance laws and best practices, approaches in directors' training, shareholder suits and other remedies available to shareholders as well as issues on money laundering and other corrupt practices.
Seminar participants were fortunate to benefit from the experience of corporate governance experts from across the region. The speakers represented established organisations such as the Asian Corporate Governance Association, Hong Kong; The Governance Group, USA; the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance; Transparency International Malaysia; the Asian Development Bank; the Singapore Institute of Directors; and the Hong Kong Institute of Company Secretaries.
Since its introduction in 1999, the APEC Financial Regulators Training Initiative which is managed by the ADB, has been an important source of general and specific training for personnel of financial regulators.
