members constitute the press conference panel, and questions are taken from the press and other analysts who can dial in. accountability and transparency are further enhanced through the biannual publication of the monetary policy review ( mpr ), in which an in - depth analysis of the monetary policy stance is presented. the mpr is launched at a national monetary policy forum ( mpf ), with all mpc members on the panel ; the launch is open to all interested stakeholders. the mpf is usually attended by more than 300 people. thereafter, a series of regional mpfs is conducted, with at least one mpc member as chair, at about nine different venues around the country. as part of our communication strategy, we also arrange stakeholder engagements. we regularly meet with foreign and domestic asset managers and investors. our outreach programme includes different groups from the broader society. these include trade unions, business associations and political parties. we also have an economic round - table discussion with economic analysts every alternate month, and we engage regularly with the academic community. ultimately, we are accountable to parliament. the sarb's annual report is presented to the parliamentary standing page 9 of 10 committee on finance, and we report to the committee whenever requested by parliament to do so. last but not least, the press and general news media are an integral part of our communication strategy. not only do the media report what we say, but they also interpret ( and in some cases misinterpret ) what we say. in order to improve the understanding of our thinking, and to encourage accurate coverage, the mpc meets with editors from the main publications at least twice a year, and once a year with senior journalists. and in order to enhance the quality of financial journalism, the sarb sponsors a chair in financial journalism at rhodes university. the steps towards communication and transparency undertaken by central banks and the sarb in particular have been significant. while we have our own communication strategies, we cannot do this without close interaction with the press and broader media. we depend on each other. the press in south africa has a proud tradition of being open, vibrant and questioning. i am sure that you, present here this evening, will carry on this tradition. my heartiest congratulations go to the winner of the award. thank you. page 10 of 10

practical issues. no official view has been clearly expressed regarding the oecd principles of corporate governance ( both the 1999 version and the 2004 revised version ). therefore, the reform of corporate governance is likely to be a reform without clear definitions. i ’ m going to give several examples in this regard. first, preserving shareholders ’ rights is one of the core elements of corporate governance. nevertheless, violating the rights of the shareholders is not a rare phenomenon in china, and there is explicit solution to this problem. for instance, in the debt - equity - swaps, no effective measures are in place to safeguard the rights and interests of the shareholders, and in many cases, the assets they were holding turned out to be neither a loan nor an equity. second, the oecd principles of corporate governance emphasizes the role of stakeholders. so far, there has not been an accurate and widely accepted translation in chinese for the word “ stakeholder ”, nor do we have principles or guidelines concerning the role of stakeholders in corporate governance. third, the respective roles of the party organizations and of the board of directors and the management need to be clarified. this is an issue unique in china. in most cases, the party organizations play a positive role in supporting the operation of the board of directors and the management. however, there are some occasions where the party organizations and the board of directors or management hold different opinions on certain issues, calling for principles and guidelines to resolve such issues. fourth, the relationship between corporate governance and the authority ’ s regulation and supervision need to be properly handled. in the planned economy and during the early transition period, government acted as both the owner and the supervisory authority of the enterprises. despite the fact that enterprise management and government supervision have been basically separated, there are often cases where these two become mixed together. clear principles and guidelines are needed in this area. improving corporate governance is a reform on which the public has placed great hopes. we must not let the public disappointed because of unclear principles and guidelines in pursuing the reform. the government should play an important role in setting up clear principles and guidelines on corporate governance by drawing upon the international and historical experiences as well as taking into account china ’ s current specific situation. third, the operations and policies of asset management companies need to be improved. during the several years of development since they were established in 1999, some problems have emerged, which are reflected in the prices at which the non - performing assets are disposed, the abuse of power for