The Shareholder Relations and Representations and the Research Committees of the Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines (SharePHIL) present the observations on the conduct of 2016 Annual Shareholder Meetings (ASMs) among selected SharePHIL-investee corporations. For this 2016, the members who volunteered to participate in this study observed the ASMs of 23 out 31 investee corporations, compared to 12 corporations observed in 2013 and 5 corporations in 2014.
The findings of this descriptive study revealed continuous improvement in the way corporate governance practices are applied in the conduct of shareholder meetings among publicly-listed corporations. With the SEC’s issuance of the new Code of Corporate Governance for Publicly-Listed Companies in November 2016, the study opens new opportunities for companies to establish and to implement corporate governance policies and practices that promote greater transparency in corporate disclosures and increased protection of minority shareholders who are participating in the said ASMs and are making the fundamental decision to buy, to sell, or to hold their shares.
With the current efforts to strengthen the country’s corporate governance practices, particularly in the conduct of shareholder meetings, it is hoped that trust and confidence in capital markets will increase as more improved mechanisms are being laid out to enforce stricter monitoring and surveillance, increased disclosure quality, and greater participation of shareholders in the decision-making process across Philippine companies. Such a move will “contribute towards a more efficient market economy that serves a catalyst for continuous, inclusive economic growth and development.”
Report
Presentation
March 2017
