{"title":"Effects of Corporate Governance Code on Corporate Governance Practices and Firm Performance in Vietnam","authors":"Hanh Minh Thai, Thanh Thi Phuong Nguyen, Rezaul Kabir","doi":"10.1111/irfi.70081","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article investigates the impact of Vietnam's Corporate Governance Code (CGC) on corporate governance practices and firm performance from 2016 to 2023. We find that the CGC enhances board independence and gender diversity. Tobin's <i>Q</i> has improved for firms that have increased the number of independent and female directors and for firms with external monitoring exposure. There was no empirical evidence for an increase in the accounting measure of operating performance, except for firms having Big 4 auditors and high state ownership. These findings suggest the capital market's appreciation of corporate governance reforms, but limited operating performance benefits. The study highlights the CGC's role in shaping corporate behavior in emerging markets and offers implications for policymakers and business leaders seeking to strengthen governance frameworks.</p>","PeriodicalId":46664,"journal":{"name":"International Review of Finance","volume":"26 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2026-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irfi.70081","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Review of Finance","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/irfi.70081","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BUSINESS, FINANCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This article investigates the impact of Vietnam's Corporate Governance Code (CGC) on corporate governance practices and firm performance from 2016 to 2023. We find that the CGC enhances board independence and gender diversity. Tobin's Q has improved for firms that have increased the number of independent and female directors and for firms with external monitoring exposure. There was no empirical evidence for an increase in the accounting measure of operating performance, except for firms having Big 4 auditors and high state ownership. These findings suggest the capital market's appreciation of corporate governance reforms, but limited operating performance benefits. The study highlights the CGC's role in shaping corporate behavior in emerging markets and offers implications for policymakers and business leaders seeking to strengthen governance frameworks.
期刊介绍:
The International Review of Finance (IRF) publishes high-quality research on all aspects of financial economics, including traditional areas such as asset pricing, corporate finance, market microstructure, financial intermediation and regulation, financial econometrics, financial engineering and risk management, as well as new areas such as markets and institutions of emerging market economies, especially those in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, the Letters Section in IRF is a premium outlet of letter-length research in all fields of finance. The length of the articles in the Letters Section is limited to a maximum of eight journal pages.