[A-List] Financial regulatory crisis: Soros vs. BP

["Keaney Michael" <Michael.Keaney@xxxxxx>]

Soros wants oil majors called to account
By Susie Mesure
The Independent, 14 June 2002

George Soros, the billionaire financier and philanthropist, called on
stock exchange regulators yesterday to change listing requirements to
force greater transparency from companies such as BP and Shell about
payments made to national governments to secure oil and gas licences.

Mr Soros, supported by pressure groups such as Global Witness and Save
the Children, wants to make it mandatory for companies to disclose any
payments, such as taxes and royalties, made to governments on a
country-by-country basis.

The "Publish What You Pay" campaign, launched yesterday in London, calls
for financial regulators such as the UK's Financial Services Authority
and the US Securities and Exchange Commission to impose rules making it
possible to track how developing countries, such as war-torn Angola,
used money received for its natural resources. Around $1bn currently
disappears from Angola's state budget every year.

Mr Soros said history had proved that voluntary compliance did not work.
He pointed to BP, which last year was forced to back down from proposals
to disclose unilaterally its tax payments to Angola after the country
threatened to terminate BP's contracts in favour of less scrupulous
competitors.

"This proposal is not designed to hurt [these companies]. It would help
them in clearing their image and allowing them to live up to their
responsibilities," Mr Soros said.

The proposals, which come at a time of heightened global interest in
corporate governance in the wake of the collapse of Enron, the energy
trader, met with a guarded response from companies under the spotlight.
Shell said it had "a policy of being open and transparent" but pointed
out it was "often bound by contracts that makes this information
confidential".

BP said the idea was "not new to us" but declined to comment on the
feasibility of Mr Soros's plan.

While the FSA also gave a guarded response to the proposals, a spokesman
said that the City watchdog was open to suggestions of possible changes
to the listing rules as part of a fundamental review it would launch in
the summer.