Vouchers, gifts, food served at AGMs are board's prerogative, says SIAS
COMPANY annual general meetings are about the annual report and shareholders seeking accountability from the board. On the other hand, vouchers, gifts and food served at these meeting are "a privilege, not a right of shareholders", said David Gerald, president and chief executive of the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS).
"SIAS supports companies not serving food at AGMs. Shareholders should not pressurize the board and management to provide food or freebies," said Mr Gerald, in the wake of discussions on whether it is acceptable for companies to scrap providing such tokens at AGMs.
He said many shareholders have provided feedback to SIAS about the "unhappiness over the misbehavior of a few shareholders who insist on rushing for food and packing food home" at AGMs.
"Some even spill the food, bringing maids and grandchildren without showing any regard or being mindful of other shareholders," he said, adding that some CEOs have also contacted him for views on the matter.
While only a minority of shareholders misbehave and have brought bad reputation to the investing community, the SIAS is of the view that the decision on whether to provide food or vouchers is entirely up to the board.
"It is unfortunate that some shareholders have abused this privilege and tarnished the, otherwise, good standing of most shareholders," he said, in a statement.
"SIAS recognises, and has maintained since inception, that the voucher, gift and food served at annual general meetings are a privilege not a right of shareholders," he asserted.
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Companies & Markets
Indian banks to step up IT spends as regulatory scrutiny rises
Puma returns to sales growth in Americas despite ‘volatile’ market
Shell to sell Singapore oil refinery, chemicals assets to Glencore joint venture
AstraZeneca lifts FTSE 100 to record high
Amazon breaks into Europe 5G networks with Telefonica cloud deal
Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store announces May 23 EGM; Cordlife seeking legal advice