NOW that the season for annual general meetings (AGMs) has started, it would be useful to contemplate the findings of a recent study on shareholder meetings in Singapore. Although the researchers found an encouraging increase in shareholder activism here, they also concluded that there is still ample room for improvement.

For example, even though more shareholders vote at AGMs and more companies are making the effort to hold their meetings outside the usual peak periods, a major problem area is that shareholders do not give sufficient consideration when voting on the reappointment of directors, resulting in "busy'' and/or "long tenure'' officials being voted in year after year.

This is one of the most oft-heard criticism of the local corporate sector - that the "old boys network'' still plays a central role in company life, resulting in infrequent boardroom renewal and an over-reliance on a select few. This is not a trivial issue since the quality and competence of directors are crucial factors behind a company's performance and in ensuring good corporate governance. To see how improvements are possible, the practice in Australia offers some worthwhile pointers.