OREANDA-NEWS. April 12, 2012. During the 8th Annual Investor Conference Dragon Capital hosted a ceremony recognizing the companies with the best level of corporate governance in Ukraine.

The results were based on the votes of Dragon Capital’s institutional clients. More than 120 representatives of international hedge funds, investment funds and asset managers investing in Ukraine took part in the poll.

Investors assessed the quality of corporate governance, including transparency of corporate decision-making, the quality of financial reporting, and the willingness of management to communicate with minority shareholders and bondholders, as well as the quality of investor relations departments.

Tomas Fiala, Chief Executive Officer of Dragon Capital, commented on the award: "With the introduction of this annual award, we would like to demonstrate Ukrainian issuers that being transparent pays back. We also hope to encourage improvement in the quality of corporate governance in Ukraine. Companies which our clients have identified as leaders in terms of corporate governance are able to successfully maintain investor interest in their securities. Due to the high level of investor confidence, these companies are normally among the first in Ukraine to tap capital markets and attract new funding at favorable terms."

MHP was the undisputed leader in the category "Best Corporate Governance in Ukraine". Shares of one of the largest Ukrainian agricultural holdings have been traded on the London Stock Exchange since 2008 (MHPC: LI). During the initial public offering (IPO) in May 2008 the company raised approximately USD 370m for 22.32% of its shares, and in December 2010 it conducted a secondary public offering (SPO) raising USD 188.6m. In addition, MHP has USD 585m of outstanding Eurobonds.

DTEK, the largest private energy holding in Ukraine, won in the category "Best Corporate Governance Among Ukrainian Bond Issuers". In 2010 the company placed USD 500m of Eurobonds maturing in 2015.

Astarta won the first place in the category "Best Corporate Governance Among Ukrainian Equity Issuers". In 2006, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine raised approximately USD 32m  during its initial public offering on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (AST: PW). At present, the company’s free float is 37% and the market capitalization of the holding is about USD 500m.