IFC Helps Improve Corporate Governance in the Kyrgyz Republic

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has launched its Central Asia Corporate Governance Project in the Kyrgyz Republic to help improve the corporate governance practices of local joint stock companies and banks.

IFC’s worldwide experience shows that companies with good corporate governance have better access to finance, obtain higher sale prices for their shares, increase efficiency, and are less likely to experience fraud. The project will work closely with shareholders, supervisory board members, and managers of joint stock companies to improve their corporate governance practices. It will also help the Kyrgyz government improve the legislative framework related to corporate governance, and it will work with the local media to raise public awareness about the importance of the issue.

“We very much appreciate that IFC is taking an interest in improving corporate governance in the Kyrgyz Republic, and we believe that the project will have a positive impact on the country’s investment climate,” said Yurusaln Toichubekov, Head of the State Service for Supervision and Regulation of the Financial Market.

Karl Bach, Project Manager of the IFC Central Asia Corporate Governance Project, said, “The Kyrgyz team has a unique opportunity to improve clients’ knowledge and practices, drawing on IFC’s extensive experience with corporate governance projects throughout the region as well as international best practices.”

The IFC Central Asia Corporate Governance Project launched in Kazakhstan in 2006 and in Tajikistan the following year. As of June 2007, more than 8,300 companies in the Commonwealth of Independent States had received training or consultations from IFC on corporate governance. These firms have attracted more than $2.3 billion in investments, including $112 million from IFC.