The Second Corporate Governance Wave in the Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

Ten years ago, corporate governance was a nascent concept in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This article charts the evolution of corporate governance across the MENA region over the past decade – as a concept and in practice – and proposes potential avenues for future work in this area. Initial interest in corporate governance in the region was propelled by the drive to attract foreign investment and the increasing development of local capital markets. A second wave now appears to be forming and its results will depend largely on the capacity of national regulators to enforce existing corporate governance provisions. JEL Classification: G03, G34 Keywords: corporate governance, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), corporate governance code, security regulators, hawkamah