So many AGMs to attend, so little time
Investors juggle schedules as 400 firms holding meetings till April 30
Published on Apr 18, 2014 1:32 AM
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Genting Singapore shareholders eating out of lunch boxes given out after an annual general meeting at Resorts World Sentosa. The jam-packed AGM season will make scheduling a challenge for investors with extensive portfolios. -- ST FILE PHOTO
By Ivan Teo
SPARE a thought for investor Mano Sabnani, who would like to attend 50 annual general meetings (AGM) over the next few weeks.
His corporate marathon starts with the annual AGM season, a jam-packed period when around 400 companies with a financial year ending on Dec 31 will hold their meetings between now and the April 30 deadline.
Scheduling can be a nightmare for investors with extensive portfolios like Mr Sabnani, as many firms leave it until the last few weeks.
AGMs can be scheduled close to one another or even held concurrently in different locations all across Singapore.
Mr Sabnani, the chief executive of financial consultancy Rafflesia Holdings, is unhappy that he will be forced to miss some meetings.
"The busiest period for me is from April 23 to April 30. I have around 50 AGMs to attend, and I would probably only be able to attend 15 to 20 of them due to time constraints," he said.
The problem is most acute on April 25 and April 28, when 75 AGMs have been scheduled on each of the days.
"I have to choose between attending the AGMs of CapitaLand, Tuan Sing Holdings and ComfortDelGro, all of which I have shares in, because they are all happening on April 25 at 10 am," he added.
Mr Sabnani suggests that the Singapore Exchange (SGX) step in to help spread the AGMs by setting up two-hour time slots for companies to book on a first-come, first-served basis.
"This will free up more time to allow shareholders to attend the meetings and take an active interest in their investments and get a better understanding about how the company is doing," he added.
Mr David Gerald, president and chief executive of the Securities Investors Association (Singapore), proposed that the April 30 deadline for holding AGMs could be extended.
But he concedes that the extension would be ineffective if companies do not space out their meetings or if they wait until the last minute to hold them. He also expressed concern that it might make financial information less useful because the data provided would not be as timely.
An SGX spokesman told The Straits Times that investors with conflicting AGM dates to attend could use proxies. However, Mr Gerald noted that it is not always possible for investors to find proxies. Technology, he argues, could prove to be the real solution to the problem.
"Companies could be required to webcast live their AGM proceedings to enable their shareholders to easily access the meetings and post relevant questions on the annual report for the board to answer."
Construction firm OKP Holdings will have its AGM on April 28. However, after the release of its financial report on Feb 24, it opened an online question-and-answer portal for investors who are unable to attend.
"(This has been our practice) since 2002," said executive director Daniel Or. "The completed Q&As are subsequently published on our company's website."
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