How do GCC stock exchanges compare on corporate governance?

SouqData scores governance across 8 dimensions for each exchange: board independence, board size, CEO/Chair separation, meeting attendance, auditor independence, credential density, committee coverage, and pay transparency. Exchange averages reveal systemic differences in governance culture.

Which GCC exchange has the best corporate governance?

Governance quality varies by exchange and depends on regulatory framework, enforcement, and corporate culture. The cross-exchange comparison page ranks exchanges by composite governance score and identifies dimension-level strengths and weaknesses.

Cross-Exchange Governance Comparison

Name: GCC Corporate Governance Dataset
Creator: SouqData
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Compare corporate governance standards across GCC stock exchanges. Exchange-level averages, regulatory frameworks, and governance dimension analysis reveal where governance culture is strongest and where systemic gaps exist.

Exchanges Compared

8/11

with governance data

Companies Scored

591

across all exchanges

GCC Average

26/100

composite score

Score Spread

14pts

between best and worst

Exchange Rankings

#	Exchange	Country	Avg Score	Grade	Scored	Total	A	B	C	D	F
1	Bahrain BourseBHB	Bahrain	37	D	4	17	-	-	2	-	2
2	Abu Dhabi Securities ExchangeADX	UAE	36	D	49	98	-	-	6	21	22
3	Amman Stock ExchangeASE	Jordan	36	D	11	193	-	-	-	8	3
4	Egyptian ExchangeEGX	Egypt	34	F	6	252	-	-	-	2	4
5	Qatar Stock ExchangeQSE	Qatar	29	F	51	55	-	-	-	11	40
6	Boursa KuwaitBK	Kuwait	24	F	69	136	-	1	-	9	59
7	Saudi Exchange (Tadawul)TDWL	Saudi Arabia	24	F	362	385	-	-	-	9	353
8	Dubai Financial MarketDFM	UAE	23	F	39	70	-	-	1	2	36

Governance Dimensions by Exchange

Heatmap showing average performance on each governance dimension per exchange. Darker green indicates stronger performance; red indicates systemic weakness.

Exchange	Board IndependenceIndep	Board SizeSize	CEO/Chair SeparationSep	Meeting AttendanceAttend	Auditor IndependenceAudit	Credential DensityCred	Committee CoverageComm	Pay TransparencyPay
BHBBahrain	2.5/20	1.5/10	7.5/10	7.5/15	6.5/10	1.0/10	5.0/15	2.5/10
ADXUAE	5.2/20	8.0/10	9.5/10	1.2/15	5.6/10	1.0/10	0.7/15	0.9/10
ASEJordan	8.6/20	7.6/10	9.1/10	0.0/15	6.1/10	1.0/10	0.0/15	0.9/10
EGXEgypt	10.0/20	7.7/10	8.3/10	0.0/15	4.3/10	1.0/10	0.0/15	0.0/10
QSEQatar	6.5/20	5.8/10	8.3/10	0.0/15	5.1/10	1.0/10	0.1/15	0.0/10
BKKuwait	2.5/20	3.2/10	9.3/10	0.4/15	5.0/10	1.0/10	0.2/15	0.1/10
TDWLSaudi Arabia	0.5/20	6.3/10	9.0/10	0.0/15	5.1/10	1.0/10	0.0/15	0.2/10
DFMUAE	1.0/20	3.7/10	7.9/10	0.8/15	5.5/10	1.1/10	0.5/15	0.6/10
GCC Avg	4.6/20	5.5/10	8.6/10	1.2/15	5.4/10	1.0/10	0.8/15	0.7/10

Regulatory Frameworks

Each GCC exchange operates under a distinct corporate governance code enforced by its national securities regulator. These frameworks shape governance culture and disclosure requirements.

Exchange	Regulator	Governance Code	Avg Score	Coverage
Bahrain Bourse	Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB)	CBB Corporate Governance Code	37	4/17(24%)
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange	Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA)	SCA Corporate Governance Code	36	49/98(50%)
Amman Stock Exchange	Jordan Securities Commission (JSC)	JSC Corporate Governance Code	36	11/193(6%)
Egyptian Exchange	Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA)	Egyptian Corporate Governance Code	34	6/252(2%)
Qatar Stock Exchange	Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA)	QFMA Corporate Governance Code	29	51/55(93%)
Boursa Kuwait	Capital Markets Authority (CMA)	CMA Corporate Governance Rules	24	69/136(51%)
Saudi Exchange (Tadawul)	Capital Market Authority (CMA)	CMA Corporate Governance Regulations	24	362/385(94%)
Dubai Financial Market	Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA)	SCA Corporate Governance Code	23	39/70(56%)

Score Distribution by Exchange

BHBBahrain

37D

4 of 17 companies scored

ADXUAE

36D

49 of 98 companies scored

ASEJordan

36D

11 of 193 companies scored

EGXEgypt

34F

6 of 252 companies scored

QSEQatar

29F

51 of 55 companies scored

BKKuwait

24F

69 of 136 companies scored

TDWLSaudi Arabia

24F

353

362 of 385 companies scored

DFMUAE

23F

39 of 70 companies scored

Best & Worst Governed per Exchange

Exchange	Best Governed		Weakest Governed
BHBBahrain	KFHKuwait Finance House K.S.C.	51C	SALAMAl Salam Bank B.S.C.	23F
ADXUAE	BURJEELBURJEEL HOLDINGS PLC	62C	ADAVIATIONAbu Dhabi Aviation Co.	16F
ASEJordan	BOJXBank of Jordan PLC	45D	CABKCairo Amman Bank	20F
EGXEgypt	MENAMENA Real Estate Company KSC	36D	ORASOrascom Construction Plc	33F
QSEQatar	MHARAl Mahhar Holding Company QPSC	43D	ZHCDZad Holding Co.	16F
BKKuwait	ZAINMobile Telecommunications Company K.S.C.P	68B	VALMOREValmore Holding	16F
TDWLSaudi Arabia	4084Derayah Financial Company	48D	9645National Signage Industria Co.	16F
DFMUAE	SALIKSalik Company PJSC	56C	TAALEEMTaaleem Holdings PJSC	16F

Dimension Leaders & Laggards

Which exchange leads or lags on each governance dimension, based on average component scores as a percentage of maximum.

Board Independencemax 20 pts

EGX

10.0/20

ASE

8.6/20

QSE

6.5/20

ADX

5.2/20

2.5/20

BHB

2.5/20

DFM

1.0/20

TDWL

0.5/20

Leader: EGX (50%)Laggard: TDWL (3%)

Board Sizemax 10 pts

ADX

8.0/10

EGX

7.7/10

ASE

7.6/10

TDWL

6.3/10

QSE

5.8/10

DFM

3.7/10

3.2/10

BHB

1.5/10

Leader: ADX (80%)Laggard: BHB (15%)

CEO/Chair Separationmax 10 pts

ADX

9.5/10

9.3/10

ASE

9.1/10

TDWL

9.0/10

EGX

8.3/10

QSE

8.3/10

DFM

7.9/10

BHB

7.5/10

Leader: ADX (95%)Laggard: BHB (75%)

Meeting Attendancemax 15 pts

BHB

7.5/15

ADX

1.2/15

DFM

0.8/15

0.4/15

TDWL

0.0/15

ASE

0.0/15

EGX

0.0/15

QSE

0.0/15

Leader: BHB (50%)Laggard: QSE (0%)

Auditor Independencemax 10 pts

BHB

6.5/10

ASE

6.1/10

ADX

5.6/10

DFM

5.5/10

TDWL

5.1/10

QSE

5.1/10

5.0/10

EGX

4.3/10

Leader: BHB (65%)Laggard: EGX (43%)

Credential Densitymax 10 pts

DFM

1.1/10

TDWL

1.0/10

BHB

1.0/10

ADX

1.0/10

ASE

1.0/10

EGX

1.0/10

QSE

1.0/10

Leader: DFM (11%)Laggard: BK (10%)

Committee Coveragemax 15 pts

BHB

5.0/15

ADX

0.7/15

DFM

0.5/15

0.2/15

QSE

0.1/15

ASE

0.0/15

EGX

0.0/15

TDWL

0.0/15

Leader: BHB (33%)Laggard: TDWL (0%)

Pay Transparencymax 10 pts

BHB

2.5/10

ADX

0.9/10

ASE

0.9/10

DFM

0.6/10

TDWL

0.2/10

0.1/10

EGX

0.0/10

QSE

0.0/10

Leader: BHB (25%)Laggard: QSE (0%)

Related Insights

Governance Risk Score

Composite governance quality assessment across 8 dimensions.

CGX Compliance

Compliance scoring against the SGX Code of Corporate Governance.

Committee Independence

Board committee composition and independence analysis.

Attendance & Engagement

Board meeting attendance rates and director engagement.

Our model generates scores and ratings using fully disclosed methodologies based on available data. These are quantitative analytical tools — not recommendations. They may not capture all relevant factors, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Users should review the methodology, assess the inputs, and exercise independent judgement.

Data sources · Full disclaimer

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