The 2020 pandemic drastically changed the way annual general meetings are conducted. Regulating bodies around the globe are continuously changing meeting legislation to adapt to the current circumstances. In April 2020, the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) announced the 60-day extension of the deadline for holding annual general meetings for companies with FY ending in March 2020.
With the strict safety measures implemented for all meetings and events, temporary legislative relief was issued to allow companies to hold AGMs via electronic means until June 2021. This alternative arrangement paves the way for the implementation of electronic annual general meetings in Singapore.
The Roadmap to Virtual and Hybrid AGMs in Singapore
Before the global crisis, few companies have already adopted the virtual component in annual meetings, especially to cater to their remote shareholders. Several video conferencing applications were already available during that time, such as Zoom and WebEx.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the actions and plans of companies to hold AGMs. They are forced to recast their resources and shift to alternative meeting formats. In response to this challenge, Parliament issued and enacted the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 to provide guidelines for holding meetings amid the pandemic crisis.
The Act sets out the restrictions on conducting physical meetings and recommended alternative arrangements and provisions for conferencing, meeting notice, and voting via electronic means. In the same year, companies and organisations sought digital platforms that can provide video conferencing and legal compliance for electronic voting and communication for virtual AGMs.
By 2021, and as more companies have explored ways to conduct meetings amid the crisis, the inclination has been towards hybrid AGMs — marrying the physical and virtual meeting formats. This insinuates the increased regard for shareholders’ rights of voting and engagement.
Last December, SGX RegCo issued a supplement to the Guidance on Conducting AGMs, mandating companies to organise virtual information sessions (VIS) to discuss certain corporate matters before the actual AGM. This is to allow shareholders to make well-grounded decisions when casting votes on such matters. In conjunction with this requirement, SGX RegCo is also recommending using real-time voting and electronic communication in general meetings.
Live Engagement and Voting in General Meetings
While the virtual format enabled successful general meetings throughout the pandemic, it also poses challenges, such as the limited shareholder interaction during its initial implementation. SGX RegCo recognised both its pros and cons and has reminded issuers to uphold shareholder engagement at all times. Indications of the return to normalcy prompted the resume of physical meetings whilst other issuers are adopting the hybrid format.
In the recent release in the regulator’s column, Tan Boon Gin, Chief Executive of SGX, wrote that the regulator is expecting all issuers to grant shareholders their full rights regardless of whether the meeting will be held physically, virtually, or hybrid. Such rights include the right to attend, appoint proxies, ask questions, and cast votes.
For issuers that will conduct fully virtual or hybrid general meetings, they must utilise both real-time electronic voting and real-time electronic communication. Thus, live engagement and voting are mandated for all annual general meetings. SGX RegCo is now putting more emphasis on shareholders’ interests by requiring companies to ensure that shareholders are present, well-informed, and have the capabilities to ask questions and vote.
All issuers holding their annual general meetings for financial years on or after 30 June 2022 are expected to comply with these expectations. Issuers holding AGMs or EGMs on or after 1 October 2022 must conform to implementing live voting and live engagement.
In addition, shareholders must be allowed to submit proxy forms by electronic means, either through email enclosing signed PDF copies of the proxy form or through third-party electronic platforms.
ConveneAGM: Shareholder Engagement in Real-Time
As regulating authorities, such as SGX RegCo, are now gravitating toward shareholder engagement, it is important for issuers to grant real-time interaction for shareholders during AGMs. An electronic AGM platform can aid in real-time voting and electronic communication without the hassle of employing multiple applications.
Holding physical, virtual-only, or hybrid meetings requires a technology that can facilitate virtual attendance, webcast, voting, and discussion in an all-in-one solution. ConveneAGM is an end-to-end virtual AGM platform designed to provide compliant and interactive tools, such as real-time webcast, live Q&A, and live voting, for issuers and shareholders.
Globally and in Singapore, ConveneAGM has been trusted as the AGM platform providing sub-second latency webcast for virtual and hybrid general meetings. It guarantees that the presentation of reports and information is concurrent across the audience, regardless of format, with minimal delay — unlocking space for engagement.
Facilitating organic engagement among shareholders brings a virtual AGM solution to the edge with its live Q&A feature. ConveneAGM offers two means for live discussions — textual Q&A and video Q&A. Other solutions in the market only provide text conversations, which may be inadequate for virtual attendees who would want to ask elaborate questions.
Video Q&A allows shareholders to join the webcast and discuss corporate matters with the board. Q&A sessions in general meetings can also be used to address questions on voting matters, promoting transparency and accountability. As Tan Boon Gin quoted in the column, “Shareholders must be able to make decisions on an informed basis. This is true when making decisions on whether to buy, hold or sell securities, as well as when voting on corporate actions and other resolutions at shareholder general meetings.”
In addition, voting is one of the meeting’s core activities. However, physical and electronic ballots may be insufficient and may pose security issues. ConveneAGM has a live voting feature that allows for secure, fast, and transparent voting. Its electronic voting system enables shareholders to cast their votes conveniently once resolutions have been laid out. Moreover, it authorises shareholders to change their votes within a given period upon considering the company’s responses. Voting results are instantly tabulated and shown to the shareholders when all votes are finalised.
Enhance Live Engagement in General Meetings with ConveneAGM
Stay compliant and immersive with the new SGX regulations by ensuring that shareholders are well-informed, engaged, and are granted their rights to impact company decisions.
ConveneAGM is the only AGM solution in Singapore designed to successfully conduct virtual and hybrid general meetings with a real-time webcast, live Q&A, and live voting. Explore our solution and see how it can empower live engagement in your next annual meeting. Contact us today for a free consultation or demo!