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Sept 30, 2010 (LBO) - Less than half of Sri Lanka's listed companies comply with a voluntary good corporate governance code developed by regulators and the body representing chartered accountants, an official said.







"We have less than 50 percent of companies not complying with a code that's not that stringent compared with global codes.

"That's the bottom line here in Sri Lanka.

" Sujeewa Mudalige, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, said a survey by the Securities and Exchange Commission had found less than 50 percent of listed firms comply with the code.

"Of the 240 listed companies less than 120 are complying with the joint code by the ICASL and SEC which has been there for the last 15 years," he told a forum.

"We have people sitting on the boards of these companies who simply think it is not required, that it does not add value.