Companies listed on New Zealand’s stock exchange need to improve their corporate governance disclosures on ethics, risk, executive pay, and shareholder relations, according to the national securities regulator’s latest review of corporate governance reporting.

A review by the country’s Securities Commission found that the most-ignored corporate governance rule was one that requires companies to “consider and respect” stakeholder interests. Some 60 percent of companies disclosed nothing about how they complied with that regulation.

Companies are also supposed to reveal how they build constructive relationships with shareholders, but 50 percent said nothing. And 30 percent revealed nothing about how they met a requirement to “observe and foster” high ethical standards.

The Commission said the worst offenders were listed companies whose shares were held by relatively few investors. Disclosures by closely held finance companies were especially poor—a fact the Commission has warned about in the past.

“Correct and thorough disclosure of corporate governance policies and procedures should be the first thing a company does to demonstrate the strength of its corporate governance,” said Securities Commission Chairman Jane Diplock.

The review assessed how well the annual reports and Website disclosures of 68 companies met the Commission’s nine principles of good corporate governance.