In partnership with
DRAFT AGENDA
An interactive workshop:
Reporting on Corporate Governance in Vietnam
March 31 – April 2, 2010
Sheraton Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Co-organized by the International Finance Corporation’s Vietnam Corporate Governance Program (IFC- VCGP),
the Global Corporate Governance Forum, and Agence France Presse
Background
The IFC Global Corporate Governance Forum and AFP have launched a cooperative program designed to build
capacities among journalists in reporting on issues related to corporate governance. Based on the view that
“better companies make better societies,” the overall objective is to draw on journalists’ unique ability to
disseminate information on corporate governance to the business community and to the wider reading public,
and to make readers aware of company activities that can have significant impact on society.
Specific objectives of the workshop are to:
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Provide journalists with substantive understanding of corporate governance as a concept and as a
basis for a company’s strategy and mode of operation;
Instill a sense of the importance of corporate governance to company’s performance, reputation and
attractiveness for investors, and the direct importance that the quality of corporate governance has
on society affected by companies’ activities;
Engage journalists in a learning process so that they can better understand, investigate and report on
business activities, with particular reference to corporate governance;
Bring to journalists’ attention issues related to corporate governance in their own environments, and
why these issues are of interest to a broader readership;
Improve journalists’ skills in conveying the essence of stories related to corporate governance through
case studies, press conferences and writing exercises.
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Workshop Structure
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Andrew Newby, AFP, will chair all workshop reporting and discussion sessions.
The workshop will be conducted in English with simultaneous translation into Vietnamese.
Reporting sessions will include presentations, Q&A and writing sessions. Presentations (roughly
twenty minutes in length) will be led by guest speakers. Q&A and writing sessions will be led by the
Chair.
All speakers will be asked to speak on the record, or to indicate otherwise.
The workshop will conclude with discussion on planning for reporting post-workshop. Certificates will
be distributed upon successful completion of the workshop i.e. attendance at all sessions and
submission of an article on CG within two weeks since the finish of the workshop.
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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Corporate Governance and the Role of Journalists
8:30-9:00
Registration
9:00-9:30
Welcoming remarks by organisers
Juan Carlos Fernandez Zara – Vietnam Corporate Governance Program, International Finance
Corporation (IFC)
Loty Salazar, Communications Officer, International Finance Corporation, Corporate Advice
Department
Andrew Newby, Agence France Presse
9:30-10:30
Initial Discussions
Chair: Andrew Newby
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Introduction of participants and workshop ground rules
Topic 1: Does good corporate governance matter in Vietnam? So is it worth reporting on?
Topic 2: The journalist’s job in reporting business news in general and corporate governance
in particular.
10:30-10:45
Coffee break
10:45-12:00
Interactive session on Corporate Governance key concepts and issues
Presentation and discussion led by Juan Carlos Fernandez Zara – IFC’s Vietnam Corporate
Governance Program, Pham Lien Anh, Operation Officer, and Bui Hoang Hai, Deputy Director,
Issuance Management Dept, State Securities Commission (SSC)
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Topic 1: What is Corporate Governance? What are IFC’s Vietnam Corporate Governance
Program doing to help improve CG practices in Vietnam?
 Topic 2: What are the leading/key corporate governance issues in Vietnam and what are
SSC’s plan to improve CG practices in Vietnam
In interactive format, the presenters will briefly introduce the concepts underlying corporate
governance, and discuss the current issues in Vietnam, as well as inform about SSC’s plan to
improve CG practices in Vietnam (Presentation followed by Q&A)
12:00-13:30
Lunch
13:30-14:30
Reporting Exercise - The Case for Good Corporate Governance
Presentation by Juan Carlos Fernandez Zara – IFC’s Vietnam Corporate Governance Program
The speaker will discuss Infosys, a real-world example of the benefits of corporate governance
reform (followed by Q&A)
14:30-15:30
Writing Exercise based on the news conference
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15:30-15:45
Coffee break
15:45-17:00
Interactive session on coverage of corporate governance issues and role of Journalists in
improvement of Corporate Governance
Presentation and discussion led by Andrew Newby, AFP
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17:00-17:15
Topic 1: Tips for Journalists in Covering Corporate Governance
what journalists can do in covering corporate governance issues
Topic 2: How Journalists can help improve Corporate Governance
What can journalists do to increase and improve coverage of corporate governance issues?
What are the red flags, warning signs and interesting angles to look out for?
Review of the day/Homework reading distribution (Reading materials will be discussed the next
day)
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Company News / Corporate Governance Problems To Look Out For
9:00 -9:30
Feedback on writing exercises
Chair: Nguyen Van Phu, Saigon Economics Times
9:30-10:30
How Corporate Governance Practices Influence Investment Decisions
Presented by Jon Lukomnik, Partner, Sinclair Capital LLC (New York)
Presentation on aspects of corporate governance that are taken into account, in particular from the
perspective of an international institutional investor, when deciding whether or not to invest in a
given country (followed by Q&A). How prominent is corporate governance on the list of priorities
that an investor is considering when assessing a given country or market? What does the investor
see as priorities among the various areas within corporate governance: existence and quality of
codes, listing rules for publicly held companies, enforcement, enterprise ownership structures, the
performance and independence of boards, relations with shareowners and stakeholders? What is
the degree of investors’ sensitivity to adverse developments in the corporate governance area?
10:30-10:45
Coffee break
10:45-12:30
Reporting Exercise - Company Results Press Release
Presented by Andrew Newby, AFP
Presentations on company results as reported in a press release by a company based in Vietnam,
with discussions on content and utility for reporting purposes.
Writing Exercise based on this news conference
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12:30-14:00
Lunch
14:00-15:30
Discussion on “The Story behind the Numbers: Examining an Annual Report of a Listed Company in
Vietnam”
Presented by David Anderson , Managing Director, Deloitte, Vietnam
Presentation will focus on the aspects of annual reports that journalists should focus on to reveal
“the real story behind the numbers” (to be followed by Q&A). The session will be held in two
parts: First, introduction of basic accounting and reporting principles in the context of
proper corporate governance. Second, application of these principles to examination of
two company annual reports, contrasting sound presentation of financial and non-financial
information with less effective presentation of same.
15:30-15:45
Coffee break
15:45-16:15
Feedback on writing exercises
Chair: Nguyen Van Phu, Saigon Economics Times
16:15-16:45
Review of the day/Homework reading distribution (Reading materials will be discussed the next
day)
Friday, April 2, 2010
The Importance of Corporate Governance for Markets and Investors
9:00-10:00
Why Good Corporate Governance Is Important for Stock Markets
Presented by Ms. Tran Anh Dao, Director of Listing Administration, Hochiminh City Stock Exchanges
(HOSE)
The presenter will discuss the relationship between corporate governance and company
performance in the capital markets, with reference to the experience of the HCMC Stock Exchange
(followed by Q&A)
10:00-10:45
Discussion on “Stock Market Reporting: Tips and Issues”
Chair: Andrew Newby, AFP
10:45-11:00
Coffee Break
Distribution of evaluation forms
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11:00-12:00
Writing Exercise
Based on workshop sessions so far and their previous experience, workshop participants will write, in
bullet point format, their ideas for key corporate governance stories to investigate in their countries
and key questions to ask the government / financial authorities. These will be discussed later.
12:00-14:00
Lunch
14:00-15:00
Interactive Session on Investigative Business Journalism
Presentation and discussion led by Jon Lukomnik, with commentary by Andrew Newby
The experiences and approaches of seasoned investigative journalists working in the field of
corporate governance will be explored. What is the role of the journalist in investigating and
reporting on corporate governance issues? Why is this important in the context of business
reporting? What leads and sources should be pursued? How do we communicate corporate
governance issues to the reader? How do we handle “push-back” or resistance? What risks are
involved?
15:00-15:30
Feedback on the morning exercises
Chair: Nguyen Van Phu, Saigon Economics Times
15:30-15:45
Coffee Break
15:45-16:15
Plans of Action
Chaired by Andrew Newby and Gene Spiro, Global Corporate Governance Forum
Discussion on how well national media report on corporate governance questions and what each
workshop participant plans to do next in this area: What different or new stories they aim to write,
what targets they will set. Participants will be encouraged to communicate to the Forum on what
they have done to follow up on the training program. They will also be encouraged to send copies of
relevant stories to the local IFC office. Organizers will provide a presentation on the Forum’s Media
Toolkit and “Virtual press Club”.
16:15-16:45
Wrap-up, summary by the organizers
Closing remarks by Tomohiro Fujiyama, First Secretary, Embassy of Japan
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