Assessment of Corporate Governance in Jordan: An Empirical Study

Abstract

This paper assesses the reality of corporate governance in Jordan. It identifies the framework of corporate governance, which has here been set into two dimensions – institutionalisations and regulations – and describes the five major principles of corporate governance. The study was carried out by interviews with key employees and the review of related laws and selected annual reports. The study found (1) basic shareholder rights were honoured in decision-making, except for large decisions such as major asset sales; (2) shareholders were not treated equitably in practice, although controllers sometimes took action and prohibited insider trading; (3) the role and rights of stakeholders in corporate governance were respected, and stakeholders had a number of legal protections, which were largely covered in Jordan's Company Law; (4) disclosure and transparency were observed to a large extent, although limited to quantity rather than quality, because Jordan has fully adopted IFRS and ISA and (5) boards largely fulfilled their responsibilities, as these are extensively defined by law and regulation.

Keywords

• Corporate governance
• Jordan
• Jordan Securities Commission
• Amman Stock Exchange
• OECD