THE Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has issued a Guidance Note on the Conduct of General Meetings for Listed Issuers where they shall conduct fully virtual general meetings during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
The SC said the Guidance Note stated there should not be more than eight essential individuals physically present at the broadcast venue, which includes the chairperson of the general meeting and may also be joined by the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer, the company secretary, the auditor and those providing audio-visual support.
In a statement yesterday, the SC stressed that listed issuers should try to conduct the fully virtual meeting with as few individuals present at the venue as possible and those present must also observe all social distancing guidelines.
“This guidance note is necessary to ensure companies can continue to meet their obligations under the law and to shareholders during this MCO period.
“We also encourage companies to continue leveraging on technology, even beyond the MCO period, to conduct meetings in a manner that will encourage and enable full shareholder participation, even from remote locations,” said its chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar.
The regulator said the guidance was in line with Principle C (II) and Practice 12.3 of the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance, where boards are encouraged to have effective, transparent and regular communication with shareholders including leveraging technology to promote shareholder participation.
The SC said companies could submit an application to the SC for a time-limited travel exemption for the essential individuals to travel to the broadcast venue for the fully virtual meetings.
It also stated that hybrid general meetings, which involve multiple venues in different locations, shall only be conducted after the MCO period has ended, in order to adhere to the government’s directives to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The Guidance Note and the form to apply for the time-limited travel exemption can be downloaded from the SC website www.sc.com.my/regulation/corporate-governance and queries can be directed to [email protected], it added. – April 19, 2020, Bernama
