CG Watch 2016, a survey of 12 major Asia-Pacific markets and 1,027 Asian companies has ranked Singapore as Asia’s top corporate governance (CG) performer followed by Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Korea, China, Philippines and Indonesia. The biennial survey of Asian markets was carried out by brokerage and investment group CLSA in collaboration with the the […]
Read MoreThe Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) is supporting reforms of the traditional company AGM system. The Australian federal government’s consultation has just ended on proposals to allow electronic forms of communication as the default method of providing shareholders with the notice of meetings and for proxy materials and meeting papers to be accessed on company websites. The […]
Read MoreWith the peak AGM season taking place in the next two months, Manifest’s analysis suggests investors may be concerned about the remuneration practices at some of the UK’s biggest companies holding their AGMs on 14th April. Mining company, Rio Tinto – listed in the UK and Australia – has also been struggling in the past year due […]
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 MoreAustralian human rights campaigners are warning investors of the risks Spanish multinational infrastructure operator, Ferrovial, could face if its takeover bid of Australian firm Broadspectrum is approved. This company is the Australian government’s lead contractor in the operation of its controversial offshore detention centres (ODCs) in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. A report has been produced for investors, financiers, clients […]
Read MoreNearly $A30 million in payouts to departing chief executives (CEOs) helped to increase the pay of the 300 highest-earning Australian CEOs by 5%, who for the first time will receive an average pay packet of more than $3 million a year, according to The Australian Financial Review Salary Survey 2015. The publication reports that the average CEO’s pay packet is […]
Read MoreThe Australian federal government has mooted a draft bill which, if it succeeds, will remove the right of a 100 shareholders to call an extraordinary general meeting (EGM). According to the announcement from Mathias Cormann, acting assistant treasurer, the draft bill contains proposed changes to the Australian corporations act that are aimed at removing “unnecessary […]
Read MoreThe NSW Court of Appeal has overturned the decision of the NSW Supreme Court in respect of seven directors who had received bans on serving as directors. The Supreme Court had found that they had breached their duties to the company (James Hardie) in 2001 over a misleading media release about asbestos compensation. The Court […]
Read MoreThe Australian Future Fund, established in 2006 to assist future Australian governments meet the cost of public sector superannuation liabilities, has released its 2009/10 annual report. The report reveals for the first time how the Fund has cast its voting rights at shareholder meetings in Australia, having taken its voting at domestic meetings in-house in […]
Read MoreThe ASX Corporate Governance Council has released a communiqué on its recent work programme and it proposal to make changes to the ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations (‘the ASX Code’) with an expected implementation date from 1 July 2010. Following the publication of the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC) earlier in 2009 of […]
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