Moudud Ahmed, however, said a law can be enacted by parliament, but leadership commitment and monitoring are very crucial for the implementation of law, he added.

The minister was speaking at a seminar on "Enforcement of Corporate Governance" as part of a two-day international conference on "Corporate Governance in Bangladesh", which began in Dhaka on Saturday.

"Whether you run a state or a company, the key to good governance is same -- the implementation of law and order," Moudud observed.

Fakhruddin Ahmed, managing director of PKSF and former governor of Bangladesh Bank, conducted the second session of the day as moderator while Mirza Azizul Islam, chairman of SEC, presented a paper on "The Role of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Corporate Governance-Structure, Constraints and Challenges in Enforcement".

Asma Tayyiba of Pakistan Securities and Exchange Commission and Tien-Wei Lou from China also presented two papers in the session.

Prof Hasung Jang of University of Korea and Salahuddin Ahmed Khan, chief executive officer of DSE, spoke as discussants.

Earlier, Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Choudhury underscored the need of positive desire of the company management, an effective regulatory body and sound stock exchanges for effective corporate governance.

"Three major stakeholders -- the company, the regulator and the stock exchanges -- determine the success of corporate governance," Altaf said while speaking as chief guest a session titled Corporate Governance Practices in Bangladesh.

The behavior of the company management is changing gradually. It has now become more transparent and accountable due to changes brought in the Companies Act and Banking Companies Act, the minister added.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Salehuddin Ahmed, who acted as moderator in the session, said the weak regulatory system and board interference with the management retards the improvement of corporate governance in the country.

The companies should follow an international standard in practising corporate governance, he felt.

Representatives from three companies -- Square, National Bank Ltd and Green Delta Insurance -- presented three papers on corporate governance.

Aims Managing Director Yawar Sayeed, DSE Vice President Ahmed Rashid also spoke as discussants.