GOVERNMENT-OWNED COMPANIES AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN AUSTRALIA AND CHINA: BEYOND FRAGMENTED GOVERNANCE

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Abstract

The ownership and control of government owned companies presents a major challenge for the integrity of established corporate law ideas regarding accountability of directors and the independence of government owned companies. Drawing upon experience from China and Australia, the article discusses some of the key corporate governance tensions that have emerged from the corporatization of state owned assets. The attempt to uncritically apply private sector ideas to the corporatisation of state-owned and controlled companies is fraught with difficulties that are discussed in this article. The article also examines attempts to place state owned companies on a sounder conceptual footing through changes to their culture brought about by adopting and embedding guidelines and standards, such as the recent OECD Guidelines on the Corporate Governance of State-owned Enterprises.

Keywords: Ownership, Corporate Control, Government, Accountability

How to cite this paper: Tomasic, R., & Fu, J. J. R. (2006). Government-owned companies and corporate governance in Australia and China: beyond fragmented governance. Corporate Ownership & Control, 3(4), 123-131. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv3i4p10