New guide looks to address corruption woes.

Summary: Lebanon has long suffered corruption and a lack of transparency, but that attitude is changing, said U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly at the launching of a corporate governance guidebook.

BEIRUT: Lebanon has long suffered corruption and a lack of transparency, but that attitude is changing, said U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly at the launching of a corporate governance guidebook.

Members of Lebanon's business community gathered for lunch at Le Gray Hotel in Downtown Beirut Thursday for the launch of the book "Advancing Corporate Governance in the Middle East and North Africa: Stories and Solutions," released by the Center for International Private Enterprise. The event was hosted by the Institute of Directors, with the keynote address given by Connelly.

The new guide explains how to draft a corporate governance code, a family constitution, a code of conduct, a whistle-blowing procedure, form an audit committee of the board of directors, and form a nomination committee for the board of directors. Two Lebanese companies, the engineering company Butec and Commercial Insurance Company SAL, are featured in the book as examples of good corporate governance.

"It is encouraging to see Lebanese companies featured in such a regional survey [guidebook] and the IOD is looking forward to working closely with many more of you who wish to improve corporate governance structures and procedures," said IOD chairman Fadi Saab.

Although the guidebook is the creation of an American organization, the speakers at the event stressed that it was the Lebanese who were interested in improving transparency in their system.

Connelly said she repeatedly hears the same questions from Lebanese: Why do you have to rely on wasta to survive? Why do so many talented Lebanese have to go abroad to find work? Why isn't there 24-hour electricity? Why doesn't Lebanon have adequate Internet?

Indeed, the creators of the guidebook hope that their project will help solve some of these problems.

CIPE program officer Amy Thornberry noted that transparency could in fact make businesses more competitive by increasing meritocracy in a region where the status quo has long meant that those with family and political connections typically have a great advantage over those without.

"With political transitions spreading across the region, the importance of good governance and transparency in the public and private sphere has never been more important. In this next stage, a dynamic private sector will be essential to rejuvenate ailing economies in the region, and companies can gain the trust and confidence of consumers and investors by creating good corporate governance practices," he said.

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