Joint-stock company "Ukrainian defence industry," into which the state concern is transformed "Ukroboronprom," must obtain proper corporate governance and comply with compliance regulations. Considering the war, we need a concrete plan to reform corporatized society management, adapted to new challenges. Svitlana Musiiaka, Head of Research and Policy of NAKO expressed this opinion during the panel discussion "Transformation of the state sector of Ukraine’s defence industry” on June 9.
According to her, it is now important to make a political decision on how we can ensure the real independence of the supervisory board and submit appropriate decisions for consideration by the government. She reminded that the sole founder and shareholder of the newly created enterprise is the state represented by the Cabinet of Ministers. The main governing body is the general assembly, which the government represents, the supervisory board and the general director." The Supervisory Board has six members, three of whom are appointed and three of whom will be independent.
But, unfortunately, this will not happen during martial law and for another three months after it ends or is lifted. The entire composition will be appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers, which provides general meetings and will form the composition of the supervisory board.", explained Svetlana Musiiaka. "Even during the period of martial law, there is a list of state-owned enterprises, joint-stock companies, and state-owned banks in which independent members of supervisory boards are selected.
So, this is a place for a political decision that will prove to what extent Ukraine as a state is ready to adhere to the standards of corporate governance.", she emphasized. "In martial law conditions, it is difficult to preserve the mechanisms of democratic control and supervision of the security and defence sector. But it would help if you did not give up on this but found other options. For example, by introducing public representatives and the expert environment to the advisory bodies, it is still possible to ensure democratic control over the transformation of the defence-industrial complex," added Svitlana Musiiaka
We remind you that on March 21, the government began the transformation of the state concern "Ukroboronprom" into the joint-stock company "Ukrainian defence Industry." Therefore, the process of transforming state-owned enterprises into business associations with the best global standards of corporate governance has begun. But this is only the beginning of a complex path of transformation, as a result of which the prerequisites for transforming the Concern into an investment-attractive and effective structure that can become a driver of economic growth have appeared. What should the defence industry sector of Ukraine look like after the transformation and how to achieve corporate governance standards at state-owned defence enterprises were discussed by the participants of the panel discussion "Transformation of the state sector of the defence industry of Ukraine," organized by NAKO.
Representatives participated in the discussion held on June 9 at the Kyiv School of Economics DK "Ukroboronprom," Ministry of Strategy and Industry, Ministry of defence of Ukraine, General Staff of the Armed Forces, representatives of embassies, and Ukrainian and international experts. In particular, they had the floor Oleksandr Kamyshin, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine, and Yuriy Gusev, general director of the state concern "Ukroboronprom."
The event was held with the support of the UK Special Adviser on Defence