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I'M NOT a (big) beer drinker, but please allow me to propose a (small) toast to SABMiller [JSE:SAB]:
Here's to taking a small but significant step in opening up its annual general meeting (AGM), held last week in far-away London, to all shareholders - even if it only afforded a retrospective glimpse at proceedings.
I have in previous columns and articles bemoaned the fact that not too many (if any) of SA's "global companies" with primary listings in London or elsewhere make too much of an effort to allow local shareholders to participate in their AGMs.
With today's technology, I have argued, it really can't be too difficult to provide video or audio feeds that would at the very least allow the many SA-based shareholders to eavesdrop on the AGM.
Why the companies in question have been so slow to take this up is quite beyond me. Surely businesses of this calibre don't really want to exclude their faithful SA shareholder base?
SABMiller hopefully has set a precedent in terms of AGMs hosted in London.
Not long after concluding the annual formalities, it posted a video link – containing the entire AGM (no director's cut) – on its website.
Admittedly, first prize would have been making a live feed available to investors outside London. But the video footage of the AGM is a small step in the right direction.
Maybe SABMiller will be confident enough next year to allow shareholders to tap into a live feed?
The video link is brilliant. It beats having to pester the company secretary for a transcript of the meeting (which I don't think is a legal requirement for listed companies anyway).
See the inimitable Theo in full swing
What a video link does convey better than even the most detailed transcript is the tone of the meeting - the body language of directors, the nervous glances, beads of sweat on the brow.
What the SABMiller video captures beautifully is the entertaining and educational repartee between chairperson Meyer Kahn and shareholder activist Theo Botha.
Shareholders and investors can make up their own minds around who gained the upper hand in the interaction – which ranged mainly around the definition of earnings used in determining executive remuneration.
Personally I found Kahn's explanations around earnings quite convincing, albeit rather patronising. But thanks to the video feed, you don't have to take my word for it - you can see and hear for yourself.
It would be most encouraging to see other local companies – not only the ones listed in London - following SABMiller's example. It's a great investment in shareholder relations, and should earn companies big accolades for enhancing corporate transparency.
While on the topic of opening up meetings to shareholders, I suppose I would really be pushing my luck in hoping that suspended diamond mining company Kimberley Consolidated Mining [JSE:KCM] will be capturing its upcoming special shareholders' meeting for the record.
Goodness knows why KCM has opted for a shareholder meeting in Kimberley, when its registered office is in Cape Town.
Kimberley is a fine little city, but when the bulk of the company's shareholder base resides in Cape Town it's a downright inconvenient trek (especially with limited flights available).
I doubt even a detailed transcript will do justice to what will transpire at the KCM meeting, where a party of disgruntled shareholders will attempt to overthrow the current board.
Film it and post it on the web - please!
- Fin24.com
Here's to taking a small but significant step in opening up its annual general meeting (AGM), held last week in far-away London, to all shareholders - even if it only afforded a retrospective glimpse at proceedings.
I have in previous columns and articles bemoaned the fact that not too many (if any) of SA's "global companies" with primary listings in London or elsewhere make too much of an effort to allow local shareholders to participate in their AGMs.
With today's technology, I have argued, it really can't be too difficult to provide video or audio feeds that would at the very least allow the many SA-based shareholders to eavesdrop on the AGM.
Why the companies in question have been so slow to take this up is quite beyond me. Surely businesses of this calibre don't really want to exclude their faithful SA shareholder base?
SABMiller hopefully has set a precedent in terms of AGMs hosted in London.
Not long after concluding the annual formalities, it posted a video link – containing the entire AGM (no director's cut) – on its website.
Admittedly, first prize would have been making a live feed available to investors outside London. But the video footage of the AGM is a small step in the right direction.
Maybe SABMiller will be confident enough next year to allow shareholders to tap into a live feed?
The video link is brilliant. It beats having to pester the company secretary for a transcript of the meeting (which I don't think is a legal requirement for listed companies anyway).
See the inimitable Theo in full swing
What a video link does convey better than even the most detailed transcript is the tone of the meeting - the body language of directors, the nervous glances, beads of sweat on the brow.
What the SABMiller video captures beautifully is the entertaining and educational repartee between chairperson Meyer Kahn and shareholder activist Theo Botha.
Shareholders and investors can make up their own minds around who gained the upper hand in the interaction – which ranged mainly around the definition of earnings used in determining executive remuneration.
Personally I found Kahn's explanations around earnings quite convincing, albeit rather patronising. But thanks to the video feed, you don't have to take my word for it - you can see and hear for yourself.
It would be most encouraging to see other local companies – not only the ones listed in London - following SABMiller's example. It's a great investment in shareholder relations, and should earn companies big accolades for enhancing corporate transparency.
While on the topic of opening up meetings to shareholders, I suppose I would really be pushing my luck in hoping that suspended diamond mining company Kimberley Consolidated Mining [JSE:KCM] will be capturing its upcoming special shareholders' meeting for the record.
Goodness knows why KCM has opted for a shareholder meeting in Kimberley, when its registered office is in Cape Town.
Kimberley is a fine little city, but when the bulk of the company's shareholder base resides in Cape Town it's a downright inconvenient trek (especially with limited flights available).
I doubt even a detailed transcript will do justice to what will transpire at the KCM meeting, where a party of disgruntled shareholders will attempt to overthrow the current board.
Film it and post it on the web - please!
- Fin24.com
