At a public seminar on promoting corporate governance last week, Prof Aung Tun Thet, senior adviser to the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry, highlighted the need that Myanmar companies pay more attention on the quality of directors. He said that though more public companies are established, but the public had no idea about the quality of the companies’ directors. He added that this is despite the fact that boards of directors must show strong and ethical view and leadership, to ensure sustainable growth.

Through the board of directors, the rights of shareholders and stakeholders as well as corporate transparency could be heightened, he said.

He also urged the companies to embrace CSR.

“Many companies focus only on doing well but they usually forget to do good. Likewise, they are eager to go public (be listed on the Yangon stock exchange). But, being public is more important than doing public. They need to build trust. It is the most important for every company,” he said.

Such practices should also be the priority for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and state-owned economic enterprises (SEEs), he said.

Meanwhile, he urged local businesses to adopt the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), to show their compliance to global standards regarding human rights, labour standards, the environment, and anti-corruption practices.

“So far, we have more than 300 UNGC member companies. We are No.1 in Asean in terms of the UNGC membership. We are now trying to reach 1,000 members by the end of this year. If we achieve our target, we will become No.1 in the world in terms of the membership. We are eager to become the world’s leading country where CSR is most pratised,” he said.