Improve corporate governance
Finance Minister AMA Muhith has called for more efficiency and transparency to improve corporate governance for sustainable businesses.
“More efficiency and transparency is very much important in today's business world,” he said at a 5th ICSB National Award 2017 for Corporate Governance Excellence at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden on Saturday.
The award honoured 28 companies for practising transparency and good governance in their day-to-day operations. Muhith handed over the awards to the winners.
The Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB), a professional body tasked with developing, promoting and regulating the profession of chartered secretaries, organised the awards.
Muhith urged the ICSB to play a role for developing professional skills in the corporate sector.
Speaking at the event, AB Mirza Azizul Islam, former adviser to a caretaker government and chairman of the jury board of the award, urged interested firms to improve their efficiency and governance.
Prof M Khairul Hossain, chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, said corporate governance was a major determinant of the stability and development of the capital market.
"We have converted the Corporate Governance Guideline into the Corporate Governance Code this year. Under the code, chartered secretaries have to play a much bigger role in ensuring excellence in corporate governance," he said.
Mohammad Sanaullah, president of the ICSB, said practicing good corporate governance was the need of the time.
“Good governance practice helps improve employees' morale and high productivity and ensures achievement of long-term goals of the business.”
Among the awardees, Eastern Bank got a gold trophy in banking category while Southeast Bank and Prime Bank bagged the silver and bronze trophies respectively.
In the non-banking financial institutions category, IDLC Finance got the gold trophy while Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation and Union Capital took home the silver and bronze trophies respectively.
Green Delta Insurance Company received the top award in the insurance category. Prime Insurance and Phoenix Insurance respectively won the silver and bronze trophies.
ACME Laboratories bagged the gold and IBN SINA Pharmaceutical Industry the silver in the pharmaceutical and chemical companies category.
In the textiles and readymade garment companies category, Matin Spinning Mills received the gold trophy and Paramount Textile and Regent Textile Mills bagged the silver and bronze trophies respectively.
Golden Harvest Agro Industries got the gold, Olympic Industries won the silver and Gemini Sea Food the bronze in the food and allied companies category.
In the IT and telecom companies category, state-run Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company won the gold trophy and Grameenphone achieved the silver one.
In the engineering companies category, Singer Bangladesh got the gold while BBS Cables and BSRM Steels bagged the silver and bronze awards respectively.
In the manufacturing companies category, British American Tobacco Bangladesh won the gold award, RAK Ceramics (Bangladesh) Ltd and Premier Cement Mills achieved the silver and bronze awards respectively.
Summit Power got the gold award in the fuel & power companies category.
In the services companies category, Eastern Housing got the gold and Unique Hotel & Resorts the silver.
