Lithuania's Vilnius Stock Exchange: Corporate Governance Code

Lithuania's Vilnius Stock Exchange approved a Corporate Governance Code last month. The objectives of the Code are to recommend best practices, encourage improved governance and disclosure, improve management quality, and to promote international activities that will enhance stakeholders' confidence in the market.

The Stock Exchange used various corporate governance codes in drafting its own, but noted in particular the use of the OECD's Principles of Corporate Governance. The Stock Exchange noted that, while some of the principles were new, many were already codified elsewhere in Lithuanian laws.

While the Code applies specifically to listed companies, the Stock Exchange encouraged issuers of unlisted securities to comply with the principles also. Foreign companies whose shares are listed on the Stock Exchange must also disclose whether they comply with the provisions of the Code.