Corporate governance
Owner’s Instructions for Swedfund International AB (Swedish Corporate id no. 556436-2084
Adopted at the Annual General Meeting on 20 April 2012.
§1 Functions of the Company
The Company shall:
a) contribute to the goal of Sweden’s Policy for Global Development (PGD): equitable and sustainable global development. The Company’s operations have two objectives. One, relating to international development cooperation, is to help in enabling poor people to improve their lives. The other, concerning Sweden’s reform cooperation in Eastern Europe, is to bring about strengthened democracy, equitable and sustainable development and alignment with the European Union and its core values;
b) ensure, in cooperation with strategic partners, that the Company takes part in investments that are not expected to be achievable with commercial financing alone. Competition with commercial financial players must be avoided. Assessment of the Company’s additional role shall be carried out ahead of investment decisions;
c) ensure that operations are conducted in a businesslike manner. The investments must be financially, environmentally and socially sustainable. In preparations for and decisions on investments, crucial importance shall be assigned to their expected contributions to the aims of the Company’s operations as defined in the second paragraph of §1a) above;
d) ensure that activities are guided by the principle of untied aid, with the exception of ‘Swedpartnership’;
e) ensure that the investments take place in accordance with international norms and principles for responsible investments, and within sound, clear corporate structures that do not contribute to tax evasion, money laundering or financing of terrorism;
f) invest in countries that qualify for development financing according to the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) definition. Investments in ‘Low Income Countries and Territories’ and post-conflict countries shall be given priority. Investments in ‘Upper Middle Income Countries and Territories’ according to the DAC definition should take place only in countries with which Sweden is engaged in bilateral development cooperation;
g) refrain from taking part in investments through intermediary jurisdictions that have been assessed within the framework of the OECD Global Forum Peer Review Process and that have thereby failed to gain approval in Phase 1 or been deemed ‘partially compliant’ or ‘non-compliant’ in Phase 2.
§2 Reporting
The Company shall:
a) besides meeting the statutory reporting requirements, assist in the implementation of the ‘transparency guarantee’ in Swedish development cooperation, in order to enhance openness in Swedish development cooperation, by such means as actively increasing public access to information about the Company’s operations;
b) to fulfil what is required under §2a) above, the Company shall systematically and continuously assess, and report externally on, the overall results from the investments and their contribution to the aims of operations listed in the §1a) above. A summary report must be included in the Annual Report, based on measurable indicators and with investments classified as ‘current’ and ‘exited’. Reports on activities shall also be sent to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), the OECD DAC and the OpenAid.se information service;
c) in its Annual Report, report separately on financial objectives adopted at the annual general meeting of shareholders.
§3 Validity
These Owner’s Instructions supersede the former owner’s instructions adopted at the Company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 27 April 2011. These Instructions apply until the AGM decides otherwise.
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Adopted at the Annual General Meeting on 20 April 2012.
