Column A is the country and year, Country.year Country name BR Brazil CH China CHL Chile COL Colombia IN India INS Indonesia PER Peru PK Pakistan PL Poland RUS Russia AR Argentina RSA South Africa IRN Iran KEN Kenya NGA Nigeria HKG Hong Kong PHL Phillipines ELS El Salvador VTN Vietnam DEU Germany UK United Kingdom for column B to AX please find below the variable explanation and scoring criteria. Variable Description Secure method of ownership registration 2 if a central depository is available and shares are mandatorily held in an electronic dematerialised format in the central depositories, 1 if there is a central depository but it is optional to have shares in dematerialised format, 0 if there is no central depository. Transfer of shares 2 if shares of listed/public companies which can be traded in the open market are fully transferable, 1 if there are restrictions at the discretion of companies and if a non-binding regulations call for full transferability of shares, 0 otherwise; 2 if foreign nationals are allowed to own and transfer shares and are treated on a par with the citizens of the host country, 1 if foreign nationals are allowed to own and transfer shares but with certain restrictions not placed on the citizens of the host country 0 if foreign nationals are not allowed to own or transfer shares. Regular and timely information 2 if half yearly and annual reports are mandatorily sent to shareholders and a central registry, 1 if annual reports are sent to the central registry only and not to shareholders, 0 if no reports are sent or otherwise; 2 if it is statutorily mandated that an annual report includes at least five of the following: a. balance sheet, b. profit and loss statement, c. cash flow statement, d. statement of changes in ownership equity, e. notes on the financial statements and f. an audit report, 1 if it is recommended under a non-binding code 0 if otherwise; 2 if financial reporting mandatorily is based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Standards on Auditing (ISA) 1 if it is recommended under a non-binding code 0 if otherwise. Participate in shareholder meetings 2 if the law explicitly mandates that any class of shareholders are allowed to attend the meeting and take part in discussion, 1 if it is a common practice backed by a non-binding code 0 otherwise; 2 if a law mandates that a proxy form to vote on the items on the agenda accompanies notice of the meeting or if shareholders may vote by mail on the items on the agenda, 1 if it is recommended by a nonbinding code or is a general practice, 0 if under law/non-binding regulation/practice absent shareholders vote (or shareholders who have not returned the proxy form/postal ballot) is given to mangers by default; 2 if cross-border proxy voting is allowed without any restriction, 1 if it is allowed with some restriction or a non-binding governance code recommends cross-border proxy voting without restriction, 0 otherwise. Dividend 2 if shareholders can approve the amount of dividend to be paid with a simple majority, 1 if it is recommended under a non-binding regulation or code, 0 otherwise. Supermajority for extra-ordinary transaction 2 each if it is mandated by rule or statute that 75% or more shareholders need to agree for the following authorizing a) capital increases; b) waiving pre-emptive rights; c) buying back shares; d) amending articles of association; e) delisting; f) acquisitions, disposals, mergers and takeovers; g) changes to company business or objectives; h) making loans and investments beyond limits prescribed under prospectus; i) authorizing the board to: (i) sell or lease major assets; (ii) borrow money in excess of paid-up capital and free reserves, and (iii) appoint sole selling agents and apply to the court for the winding up of the company, 1 each if it is under a non-binding regulation with a comply or explain architecture or if it is a common practice, 0 otherwise. Performance related pay 2 if under law a minimum fixed portion of executive remuneration is performance linked, 1 if it is a common practice or recommended under a non-binding corporate governance code, 0 otherwise; 2 if executive remuneration requires shareholder approval, 1 if shareholder approval is only advisory, 0 otherwise; 2 if there are statutory rules relating to stock option plans and stock linked pension funds exist, 1 if there is a non-binding code or regulation, 0 otherwise. Proportionality of ownership of share and control 2 if ordinary equity shares that do not carry a preference of any kind, neither for dividends nor for liquidation carry one vote per share, 1 when a non-binding code discourages the existence of methods of disproportional control like multiple-voting and nonvoting ordinary shares, pyramid schemes or does not allow firms to set a maximum number of votes per shareholder irrespective of the number of shares owned, 0 otherwise. Markets for corporate control 2 if pre-offer takeover defences are statutorily banned, 1 if there is a non-binding code which specifically discourages directors from using pre-offer defences, 0 if there is no regulation; 2 if post-offer takeover defences are statutorily banned, 1 if there is a non-binding code which discourages directors from using post-offer defences, 0 if there is no regulation; 2 if at least 25% or more shares are to be with the public for listed companies, 1 if there is a non-binding code for the same, 0 otherwise; 2 if a declaration to the market by a shareholder holding 5% of share capital is necessary whenever their shareholding changes by more than 1-5% of the total subscribed share capital within a given period of time, 1 if the disclosure is recommended by a non-binding code, 0 otherwise. Impediments to cross border voting 2 if American Depositary Receipt (ADR) and Global depository receipt (GDR) with voting rights at par equity is allowed, 1 if ADR and GDR have voting rights with some restriction, 0 otherwise. Changing the external auditors 2 if by law external auditors need to be changed after 1-5 years and some cooling off period, 1 if it is recommended under a non-binding code, 0 otherwise. Presence of independent directors 2 each if it is mandatory for presence of audit committee, remuneration committee, nomination committee with a majority of independent directors, 1 if it recommended by a code, 0 otherwise. Legal protection for whistle-blowers 2 if the country has legal protection for whistle-blowers, 1 if it is recommended in a nonbinding corporate governance code etc., 0 otherwise. Ability to influence an electing member of the board 2 if cumulative voting is allowed, 1 if it is recommended but discretionary, 0 otherwise. Prohibit abusive self-dealing A score of 0 if the board of directors, the supervisory board or shareholders must vote and the self-dealing majority shareholder is permitted to vote, 1 if it is recommended under a non-binding code that the board of directors or the supervisory board must vote and the self-dealing majority shareholder is not permitted to vote, 2 if it is mandatory that the self-dealing majority shareholder is not permitted to vote; 2 if shareholders must vote and the self-dealing majority shareholder is not permitted to vote, 1 if it is recommended, 0 otherwise. A score of 0 is assigned if no disclosure is required 1 if disclosure on the terms of the transaction is recommended, 2 if it is required; 2 if an external auditor is required to review the transaction before it takes place, 1 if it is recommended, 0 otherwise. Ability to take judicial recourse 2 if direct or derivative suits are available for 100 shareholders or shareholders holding a minimum of 5-10% of the share capital, 1 if more than 10% or more than 100 shareholders are required for a suit, 0 in other cases. Stakeholder representation in board 0 if under a regulation stakeholder representation is found/encouraged in board, 1 if it is discouraged by a non-binding code or if there is no mention, 2 if it is prohibited by a binding regulation; Stakeholder presence in shareholder meetings 0 if under a regulation stakeholder or their representatives can be present/are encouraged to be present in shareholders meeting, 1 if it is discouraged by a non-binding code 2 if it is prohibited by a binding regulation and only shareholders can be present; Election of the members of managing board 2 in the case of a unitary managing board where a majority of its members are directly elected by shareholders or are selected with the concurrence of the elected members of the board, 1 where under a non-binding code it is encouraged, 0 otherwise Remedies available for stakeholders 0 if stakeholders find remedy inside company law, 1 where there is a non-binding code under which stakeholders other than shareholders are offered remedy outside of company law, 2 if the company code or the listing agreements do not have any provision for stakeholder remedies except for shareholders; Precedence of stakeholder rights over shareholder rights 0 if the country has a code of ethics for directors which explicitly states that stakeholder rights come before any other shareholder rights, 1 if it is recommended that directors give due consideration to the rights of different stakeholders but does not state if one group has a higher claim than another, 2 if there is a mandatory code which mentions that shareholders have precedence over other stakeholders.