[SINGAPORE] A new study by the Centre for Investor Protection at NUS Business School has urged regulators to promote hybrid annual general meetings (AGMs) for companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
This recommendation follows findings that AGMs are often clustered together during specific time periods. For example, 88 AGMs were held on a single day – Apr 26, 2024.
This was due to 65.8 per cent of issuers having a Dec 31 year-end, which requires them to hold their AGM by Apr 30 the following year, said the report.
The study suggested that hybrid AGMs – which incorporate live Q&A via text or video and real-time voting – could make meetings more accessible to shareholders and enhance participation.
“Consideration should be given to recommending hybrid meetings through a provision in the Singapore Code of Corporate Governance to support the principle of treating all shareholders fairly and equitably,” said the report, which will be made publicly available on Apr 14.
The report, Let’s Get Physical, reviewed all AGMs and extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) held in 2024, a year when most meetings returned to in-person formats following the pandemic.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
It analysed 556 AGMs – including back-to-back AGMs and EGMs – and 135 standalone EGMs conducted by 555 issuers with a primary listing on SGX.
During the pandemic, companies were allowed to conduct meetings electronically under temporary measures. However, in December 2022, the Singapore Exchange Regulation announced that all general meetings from Jul 1, 2023, would revert to physical formats.
In 2024, the study found that only 17 AGMs and two standalone EGMs were conducted in hybrid mode. These meetings included live voting, and most allowed Q&A through live text chat.
A few companies, including Azeus Systems, ComfortDelGro, SBS Transit, and Vicom, offered live Q&A sessions through both text and video call.
Meanwhile, Civmec facilitated its live session through text and verbal call.
The study also uncovered other trends regarding the timing and compliance of AGMs in 2024. For instance, 38 AGMs were held after the mandatory four-month deadline; one was conducted more than three years after the deadline.
Shareholder participation levels at these AGMs and EGMs also fell short of expectations, raising concerns on issues related to voting and the exercise of shareholder rights.
On average, only 62.1 per cent of companies’ total shareholdings voted at AGMs. For EGMs, this figure was more promising at 78.9 per cent.
Some 43 ordinary resolutions at AGMs and 16 at standalone EGMs received less than 50 per cent of votes in support and did not pass.
The most common resolutions that failed were those related to share issuance or allotment, director re-election, directors’ fees and remuneration and the adoption of share-based or incentive schemes.
In light of these findings, the report recommended conducting a review to explore ways to increase the percentage of shares voted at shareholder meetings, particularly by minority shareholders.
It also called for an assessment of how barriers to exercising shareholder rights – such as requisitioning or calling meetings, or proposing resolutions – can be reduced or removed.
