Shareholder engagement a victim of 2020's slew of virtual meetings

Michelle Quah

Published Thu, Apr 1, 2021 · 05:50 AM

Singapore

IT WAS a year, not just of social distancing, but also of "investor distancing", as virtual shareholder meetings here created more than just a physical chasm between companies and their shareholders.

"The Singapore Report on Shareholder Meetings: The Rise of Virtual Meetings", published on Wednesday, found that investor participation and shareholder engagement in Singapore took a beating in 2020, as listed companies, regulators and investors alike struggled to come to terms with a new way of conducting meetings.

Mak Yuen Teen, an associate professor of accounting at the NUS Business School, who authored the report, said: "For years, we'd been advocating a greater use of technology among listed companies, such as through the webcasting of meetings…