Group of authors: Reloading Ukraine’s corporate governance reforms

Naftogaz worker drills for gas at Ukraine's gas transmission operator Ukrtransgaz pipe infrastructure at the Dashavska gas field on Sept. 2, 2021, in Lvivska Oblast. Controversial developments at energy giant Naftogaz in early 2021 have revived the debate over corporate governance reforms at Ukraine's state-owned enterprises.

Photo by Volodymyr Petrov

Corporate governance reform at Ukrainian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has reemerged as a national priority since April 2021 following management changes at energy giant Naftogaz. Tellingly, at the July 2021 Ukraine Reform Conference in Vilnius, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken named a new law on SOE corporate governance as one of Ukraine’s top five priorities. As initiators of the proposed corporate governance law currently under consideration, we would like to explain why it matters so much.