NSE, CBi to introduce corporate governance rating system

  The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday announced plans to establish a Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS) for listed companies.

In a statement made in Lagos, the NSE said that the objective was to raise corporate governance standards nationwide. It said that the NSE and Convention on Business Integrity (CBi) would host quoted companies on corporate governance to breakfast meeting on Jan. 29.

The NSE said that the session for senior executives of listed companies across sectors would focus on the importance of corporate governance in ensuring healthy investment environment. The statement quoted Mr Haruna Jalo-Waziri, NSE Executive Director of Business Development, as saying that the programme would encourage companies to do business in sustainable manner.

It said that the partnership with the CBi was to create a corporate governance rating system and index for companies that met certain criteria. “The objectives are to raise overall corporate governance standards in the country by providing companies with an incentive to develop global best practices. It will provide opportunities for companies to differentiate themselves in the market place,” Jalo-Waziri said.

The statement also quoted the Executive Director of CBi, Mr Soji Apampa, as saying that the CGRS would be inaugurated in 2014. The inauguration, it said, would provide information on the methodology, implementation, overall strategy and benefits of the system.