Canada has introduced a bill aimed at improving its corporate governance framework. An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA), the Canada Cooperatives Act, the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act and the Competition Act includes proposals to increase shareholder democracy and participation, support the push to increase women’s board participation, improve corporate transparency and business certainty. Navdeep Bains, Minister of […]
Read MoreTaiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission has published the Securities and Futures Institute’s second evaluation of Taiwan’s 5-year Corporate Governance Roadmap published in December 2013. This is an assessment of the corporate governance of 1,447 companies in 2015 – made up of 824 TWSE-listed companies and 623 listed on the Taipei Exchange (TPEx). Half of these companies have then been ranked according to the adherence to Taiwan’s corporate […]
Read MoreShareholders in Australian companies are now more likely to have their votes taken on a poll by default instead of the traditional show of hands. Two-thirds of companies targeted by a global collaborative investor initiative have moved towards using polls, according to the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI). The initiative was led by US pensions provider, TIAA, with […]
Read MoreInstitutional investors are demanding high ethical standards from their investment managers and all investors are looking better transparency about fees they charge according to, From Trust to Loyalty: A Global Survey of What Investors Want, produced for the CFA Institute. Institutional investors, with their complex constituencies and a clear focus on risk management, hold their investment managers to […]
Read MoreThe Singapore Exchange (SGX) is undertaking a consultation on amendments to its Listing Rules to align them with the amended Companies Act passed in October 2014. The Listing Rule changes will be able to send companies to send company notices and documents to shareholders electronically and the consultation asks if there is any concern about allowing companies to do […]
Read MoreThe Best Practice Principles for Shareholder Voting Research have improved transparency, so issuers and investors can better understand the work of proxy information providers and advisers, according to the EU’s European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). However, the ESMA believes that the industry group behind the Principles would benefit from better governance and further clarity over what […]
Read MoreThe Association of Member Nominated Trustees (AMNT) officially launched its new AGM voting toolkit this month (08-Dec-15). The 34 policy ‘Red Lines‘ (19 Governance, 10 Social and 5 Environmental) are designed to help pension trustees hold investee companies – and the fund managers who manage their investments in them – better to account when it […]
Read MoreThe amended Transparency Directive (TD), which entered into force on 26 November 2015 across the EU brings major new powers to the FCA. One of the key changes is that the FCA can apply to court for a voting rights suspension order against a “vote holder” of shares in a company which are admitted to trading on […]
Read MoreThe International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) has welcomed the ongoing work on the Japanese Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes. A panel of experts was established in September to encourage the adoption of the codes as well as further improving corporate governance of all listed companies in Japan. Japan’s Stewardship Code, was established and released in February 2014 while Japan’s […]
Read MoreThe European Commission has released proposals which it says will improve access to finance for companies and simplify the information provided for investors. The Commission is making changes to the Prospectus Directive, originally adopted in 2003 and last revised six years ago. Under the proposed changes the directive will become an EU Regulation. The proposals follow […]
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