Building a Corporate Governance System in Jordan: A Critique of the Current Framework

摘要

Corporate governance is developing rapidly in many countries across the world. In this article, the existing state of corporate governance in Jordan is examined. Jordan does not have a corporate governance code per se. The article reveals that overall Jordan has in place some of the features of corporate governance best practice, but that there remains further progress to be made in areas such as independence of directors, compensation, pre-emptive rights for shareholders, correlation between shareholding and entitlement to seats on the board, and the role of stakeholders. The article recommends legal reforms, principally through amendments to the Companies Law of 1997, in order to enhance corporate governance in Jordan.