USCIB Director for Investment, Trade and Financial Services Eva Hampl was in Paris the week of March 26 participating in various meetings surrounding the work of the OECD Working Party on State Ownership and Privatization Practices. The consultation with the SOE working party took place on March 27. Business at OECD (BIAC) used this platform to present comments on global reporting standards for internationally active SOEs, integrity and anti-corruption in state-owned enterprises, as well as the OECD working party’s program of work for 2019-2020.

“Addressing stakeholder and, particularly, business involvement is crucial,” said Hampl in her remarks. “The importance of the adherence to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention to ensure government backing, the benefits of privatization, as well as the importance of a horizontal OECD work program cannot be overstated,” she said.

The SOE issue has been addressed in turn by various Committees of the OECD. During the consultation, BIAC learned that such horizontal activity is being pursued by the OECD. On March 28, BIAC participated in a discussion with members of the Working Party on the follow up to the special roundtable on SOEs and Integrity in October, and on the “building blocks” of future OECD Anti-Corruption and Integrity Guidelines for the state as owner of SOEs. Hampl reiterated the point about the importance of stakeholder input, highlighting that business is at the frontlines of these issues and should be regarded as a specifically relevant stakeholder. Following the discussion, Hampl attended a joint session with the Integrity Forum entitled Towards Anti-Corruption and Integrity Guidelines for State-Owned Enterprises.