Global News Latin America
Mexican former state governor charged
Enap to revamp corporate governance t
Chile’s senate (below) has approved a bill to overhaul corporate governance at national oil company Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (Enap). The legislation, which the senate passed in June, mandates that Enap has a fully independent board of directors — free of influence from union representatives or government. The bill establishes a board composed of seven members: two directly appointed by the President, of the Republic, four proposed by the high public management system and one that will be chosen by the company’s employees.
The bill was approved by the Chamber of Deputies with 98 votes in favour and now can be put into effect by the President of Chile.
Former Mexican state governor Javier Duarte (above) has been extradited from Guatemala to Mexico and charged with corruption, money laundering and involvement in organised crime. Duarte, who governed the state of Veracruz for six years, has been accused of siphoning off millions of dollars during his tenure. Mexican prosecutors say the ex-governor will stand trial, with prosecutors alleging that Duarte embezzled millions and used much of the money to buy properties. Duarte’s legal team has said the state charges are baseless and politically motivated.
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Brazilian stock market operator B3 has announced that companies listed on the Novo Mercado segment have voted for a revision of regulations. The new listing rules bring changes that include mandatory auditing committees, improvement of the minimum requirements of codes of conduct (including with compliance and ethics requirements) and additional mandatory policies, such as on related parties transactions, appointment of managers and management of risks.
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“B3 is proud of the vote of confidence that it has received from the range of stakeholders involved in this process to play, once again, its institutional role of promoting changes that seek to uphold the excellence of capital markets in Brazil,” said Flavia Mouta, B3’s issuer regulation managing director. “The subject of corporate governance best practice is always on the agenda in our discussions about making the Novo Mercado into a national and international benchmark.”
Photo: jonel hanopol
B3 companies approve new regulation
Havaianas sold amid corruption scandal Brazilian flip-flop brand Havaianas has been sold for nearly $1.1billion as its owners liquidate assets to foot multi-billion corruption fines. Alpargatas, maker of Brazil’s Havaianas flip-flops, announced that controlling shareholder J&F Investimentos has sold its stake in the footwear company to Brazilian investment groups Itaúsa, Cambuhy and Brazil Warrant. J&F Investimentos, the holding company overseeing the fortune of Brazil’s billionaire Batista family, was fined more than $3billion in May for bribing nearly 1,900 politicians. Havaianas has dominated the global flip-flop market, selling around 200 million pairs a year — 16 per cent of them are exported.
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