 We have been talking about the different aspects and perspectives of corporate governance in a very general context and today we are going to be moving forward to a very important topic which is corporate governance and corporate performance. In our last session, we talked about the burst of the American bubble and in that bubble, it was seen that many large global corporations were obliterated and there was this crash of not only the US stock market but also of different stock markets around the world in which thousands of billions of dollars of capitalization was lost even by some of the best companies in the world. Now today we are going to see the correlation which exists between corporate governance and corporate performance which is a very important relationship. Now when we look at this, then there are several studies in the US which have found a positive relationship between corporate governance and corporate performance. There are some studies which suggest otherwise also one difficulty in looking for statistical evidence of the value of good corporate governance is that governance is multi-dimensional. There are strong signs that the world's business ethical standards are becoming more stringent and what constitutes good business practice is becoming clear. Corn and Ferry International and the Columbia Business School conducted a 20 country poll on 1500 business executives. So ladies and gentlemen, what we see is that this is a very complex dimension to understand because of the fact that corporate governance is cross cutting and it has many dimensionalities. Therefore, tracking and tracing it and surveying it becomes very challenging. However, not impossible. There have been many studies which have been conducted and they have been independent of each other and again we have seen that depending upon the country or region in which they were conducted, the results were different. However, there were certain similarities and what we see is that the study which was conducted by Corn and Ferry International with Columbia Business School was across 20 countries and 1500 executives. Now in this particular study, we see that the respondents were asked to look ahead and identify a list of the most important characteristics of the ideal corporate CEO for the year 2000. Now when the different responses came and it was tabulated, then to the amazement of many, the most important characteristic was ethics. So again, ladies and gentlemen, when we talk about ethics, then we're talking about the study of morality, the difference between right and wrong of understanding what should be done and what should not be done of understanding that it is not that it is within my purview or it is within the ambit of my authority, then I start doing wrong things. But actually, I don't do wrong things because I know that they are wrong and that becomes Kantian ethics, that you do something which you think is right because it is right and you don't do something which is wrong because you know that it is wrong. While in utilitarian ethics, what we see is that the actions are based upon the greater good. So when we are talking about the greater good, then many a times it can lead to compromises. So again, right is right and wrong is wrong. It can be relative but there are certain things which are very important and there are certain things which are ascertained and there are certain things which are universal. So truth is universal, anti-corruption is universal. When we talk about integrity, integrity is universal, empathy is universal. So there are certain things which might if we stress them have negative connotations but they predominantly are positive in context, contextualization, texture and in pragmatic implementation. So that becomes very important and this study basically was able to highlight this particular very important issue. The conference board in New York together with the Institute of Business Ethics in London did a similar study in 1992 and they found 84% of responding firms had a corporate ethics code followed by 71% of UK firms and 58% around the world. So we see that predominantly this other survey which was conducted again reflected the fact that different countries and different organizations had their own corporate ethics code by which they would make sure that the employees would work according to the culture of the organization and would abstain from doing things which were not accepted to the organization. So these code of ethics also are extremely important and are an integral part of corporate ethics. So when we are talking about corporate governance and sustainability ladies and gentlemen then we are talking about social integration and ecological integrity which represents values as material and valuable as any monetary value. So it basically means that there is something which is called social capital and the integration of the different social stakeholders. There is something which is called ecological capital, something which is called integrity capital and all of these things are also capital. All of these things lead to the enhancement of the organizational brand. All of these things lead to more credibility and more market acceptability and all of these things in the long run lead to maximization and optimization of organizational profits. So they go hand in hand, they are hand in glove and what we see is that they must be practiced in essence and they must be truly practiced to avoid negative implications and negative connotations and negative consequences. We talk about the challenges to companies is to bridge the divide between corporate governance and corporate social and environmental responsibility. So sometimes they are taken as separate parts but actually they are all together and corporate governance is integrated to corporate social and environmental responsibility. In social terms, there is a need to demonstrate a commitment to employees, community and wider society that ensures they do not harm to the health and well-being of people and do everything they can to improve the quality of life. So again, organizations have responsibilities. It is not that we can produce better products but in the process of producing those products we can have waste effluents which are damaging water reservoirs which would have negative implications on the health of communities and of employees and of stakeholders. So that is also very important. We cannot release dangerous gases into the air. We cannot exploit labor. We cannot create suffocating environments. We cannot do different acts which would have negative implications for different communities. So all of this goes together and in corporate governance it is very important that we ensure and protect our stakeholders and we safeguard the interests of the community at large. In environment terms, corporations will be made to bear the cost of any impact on the environment and there will be incentive structures to enable better responses and solutions to environmental problems. So we now talk about environmental credits. We talk about environmental stock exchange. We talk about having mandatory practices of plantation, of cutting down emission of dangerous gases, of minimizing and of ensuring that there is a recycling of dangerous effluents. So all of this now is a part of corporate responsibility, corporate social responsibility and corporate ecological responsibility. All of these things become very important for us and we as the corporation have to ensure that we do not compromise on them and we do not window dress them and we do not cheat our own society, our own community and the world at large. Now when we are talking about benefit to society then there is also another aspect to it and that is investors preference for good governance. Now investors also want to see and read in annual reports and other documentation and on websites how the organizations are contributing to the betterment of society. Adopting standards for transparency in dealing with investors and creditors will bring benefit to all and also it helps to prevent systemic crisis. So that is very important. Countries with stronger corporate governance protections for minority stakeholders, shareholders have much larger and more liquid capital markets. Competition in product markets and for capital actors constraints on corporate behavior in effect promoting good corporate governance. So all of these points are also extremely important in addition to being a good corporate citizen and also to environmental protection within the community and also beyond the community. All of these things become extremely important in many societies. Combating corruption is not a subject that is easy to deal with because of political sensitivities and potential and also the fact that there are a lot of cover ups. Now if you look at Pakistan we have a seven tier accountability mechanism starting from the National Assembly Audit Committee and then going on to NAB and then going on to different federal government agencies then provincial government agencies and going up to intra-organizational accountability. So seven tier accountability process but there is a lack of accountability because the very essence and the very values have been compromised. So it becomes very important that we combat corruption together as a community just like the United Nations basically states that corruption is like a cancer which eats into the very fabric of a nation. So we cannot let that happen because it would have negative consequences for individuals, for organizations, for communities and for nations at large. So that is very important ladies and gentlemen. So when we talk about the benefits of corporate governance then we are talking about creation and enhancement of a corporation's competitive advantage. Corporations which develop their strategies by involving all levels employees create widespread commitment to make the strategy succeed. Number two, enabling corporations to prevent fraud and malpractices. The code of best conduct enables corporations to compete more efficiently in the business environment and prevent fraud and malpractices that destroy business from the inside. Now if you look at point number three, providing protection to shareholders' interest, fiduciary duty on management to act in the best interest of all shareholders and property discourse operations of the corporation. And number four, enhancing the valuation of an enterprise, improved management accountability and operational transparency, fulfill investors' expectations and confidence in management and corporations. So ladies and gentlemen, when we are talking about all of this, then we basically see that all of these points become integral to good corporate governance. And at the end of the day, we create a win-win situation rather than a win-lose situation or a lose-lose situation. Now to ensure all of this, there has to be compliance of laws and regulations. And therefore, the long-term survival of a corporation has to enable shareholders' long-term benefits and compliance becomes a key agenda in establishing good corporate governance. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the key to success. And that is that there should be non-discriminatory compliance of rules, regulations, protocols and frameworks. That there should be no exception to it from the lowest employee to the highest employee. From the least important to the most important stakeholder. And all of this, ladies and gentlemen, would lead to a better environment, would lead to better organization for all and would lead to a better economy on a national and global context. Thank you so much.