Date: September 29, 2020
With reference to the Press Release by Ministry of Law on COVID-19 Relief Measures: Refinements to Alternative Arrangements for Meetings dated 29 September 2020 – https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/news/press-releases/refinements-to-alternative-arrangements-for-meetings.
SIAS is indeed pleased to see that Ministry of Law is now requiring companies to have in place measures like Live Voting and addressing live Q&A at the virtual AGMs and EGMs.
While we understand that the initially commencing virtual meetings was a challenge for some companies, it has been almost 6 months since the alternative measures were first put in place. Companies and their vendors should now be able to raise the standard of meetings to actively interact with shareholders and to address their concerns directly, live! Shareholders have been asking for this for some time. SIAS supports these measures.
It is especially important, during these times of crisis, that companies are more transparent and actively engage their shareholders. They should not shy away from addressing shareholder questions both before, during and after meetings.
David Gerald
Founder, President & CEO
SIAS