Kuwait: Zain Group, a leading telecom innovator in seven markets across the Middle East and Africa, listed on the Boursa Kuwait, announces it has won the World Finance ‘Best Corporate Governance Award 2022’ for Kuwait for the second consecutive year. Zain’s Investor Relations and Corporate Governance Framework continue to attract high praise and gain market confidence as the functions provide stakeholders including shareholders, industry analysts, and regulatory authorities with accurate, timely, and actionable information in a transparent and accountable manner.
As a leading entity listed on the Premier Market, Zain is in regular communication with the country’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA), as it fully abides by and seeks to exceed the regulations issued by all financial regulatory bodies in Kuwait including the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the CMA and Boursa Kuwait.
Bader A-Kharafi, Zain Vice-Chairman and Group CEO said, "It is an outstanding achievement to be recognized as possessing the ‘Best Corporate Governance’ practice in Kuwait for two years in a row, and this milestone justly rewards our Investor Relations and Corporate Governance team’s high ethical standards, professionalism and diligence.”
Al Kharafi added, "As a publicly traded organization, it is necessary for us to disclose certain information, though in Zain’s case we proactively seek to go beyond this minimum disclosure requirement. The publication of our annual and sustainability reports, regulatory disclosures, Corporate Governance framework, as well as our operational and financial results reporting, all point to our goal to be as informative, transparent, and supportive as possible to all stakeholders, that require company and financial information from us.”
Zain’s Corporate Governance framework helps the company to mitigate risks and facilitates an effective board oversight over the company’s executive management by monitoring the implementation of policies when running daily operations.
Corporate Governance promotes strong internal controls to improve integrity of financials and establishes a culture of compliance. This governance structure has helped Zain to win the confidence of the market and attract global investors.
In Kuwait, there are 11 principles on which Corporate Governance laws are based. The principles include disclosure to achieve transparency, composition and independence of the board of directors, value creation through appointing qualified members of the board and qualifications and management, performance assessment of the board, promoting ethical standards and enforcing the code of conduct, ensuring accounting integrity, applying sound systems for Internal Audit and Risk management, and focusing on corporate social responsibility.
Zain’s board plays an important role in ensuring that Zain conducts its business in a fashion that is consistent with the highest standards of governance and ethical behavior and that it contributes positively to society. One of the Group’s business priorities is to comply with legal and regulatory business requirements, demonstrated through developing its operations to reflect the latest changes in corporate governance best practices. Zain focuses on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators, and ensures that ESG issues are integrated into business strategy.
Zain's business environment depends on better empowerment of decision makers through diversity and inclusion, working with integrity and honesty, and adhering to the company's code of ethical conduct to achieve our targets.
The ethical guidelines of Zain’s Code of Conduct are extensive and exist to guide and empower the Board of Directors and executive management to make the right choices, as individuals and as a company. Adhering to the Code of Conduct allows Zain to exercise a positive impact on the industry, communities in which it operates, and beyond; and build a company all can be proud of, where corporate responsibility is a key competitive advantage.
Zain’s Investor Relations and Corporate Governance departments are also working to raise awareness on issues related to the environment, social, and governance matters in response to global trends and best practices. Accordingly, Zain has developed new policies and is working to increase transparency in addition to focusing on social responsibility. Such policies and procedures are flexible, and take into account both short- and long-term challenges and risks.
Zain Group has placed sustainable growth at the forefront of its priorities, as the board and executive management believe in building positive relationships between all stakeholders, by strengthening Corporate Governance.
World Finance is a print and online magazine providing comprehensive coverage and analysis of the financial industry, international business and the global economy. Since being founded nearly 20 years ago, the publication is read in over 100 countries, with a readership of 120,000 per issue on average. The annual World Finance Awards select and analyze some of the most diverse and succinct governance platforms and recognize leading organizations in this important area.