Stock markets and their institutional administrators - stock exchanges - play important roles in âfostering good standards of corporate governance.â (Maasen 1999:80) They are important corporate governance institutions in countries being intrinsically involved in the life cycle of public companies through listing, overseeing, regulating and delisting. In essence, they play a central role in the economic activities of the private sector. According to Summers (1987), financial markets are the wheels of economic growth, and âlocal stock exchanges are the keystone of the financial market-centred model of national economic growth.â (Weber & Davis 2000: 4). Stock markets channel capital, are mechanisms for effective governance, and are a fulcrum for producing institutional and social change within an economy. Firstly, this paper discusses the major corporate governance systems around the world. Secondly, current corporate governance reforms are examined with reference to the profound influence of the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance (1999, revised 2004), and the criticism of the Principles. Thirdly, the growth of capital markets from 1990 to 2005 and the dominance of Anglo-American stock exchanges are examined. Fourthly, the state of two stock exchanges in two Asia Pacific countries with differing socio-economic histories is compared: the Australian Stock Exchange with the Philippine Stock Exchange. Finally, the paper concludes with recommendations for the future direction of corporate governance reforms
