Session 4: Corporate law, regulation, ESG and purpose

Regulators for financial institutions and other regulated companies see the primary objective of corporate governance as safeguarding stakeholders' interests in conformity with the public interest on a sustainable basis. However, laws and regulations lack clarity and carry uncertain practical and economic effects for enterprises, their suppliers, buyers, and international competitiveness. The ESG movement poses challenges to legislators. Enforcement and enforceability of laws and regulations are the key problems for legislators who want to promote stakeholder interests. Recently enacted laws pose problems as they lack clarity and thus carry uncertain practical and economics effects not only for enterprises but also for their suppliers and buyers (including SMEs) and for international and global competitiveness. This session will examine some of the various options that have been suggested to address these problems, including market discipline and self-regulation, codes with comply and explain mechanisms, disclosure and auditing, and building enterprise law with internal and external requirements.