State of the Market: Singapore (2019) AGM Landscape Trends Report

In FY2019, our dedicated Share Registry Team successfully delivered 151 meetings in Singapore notably for the April peak season, including AGMs, General and Scheme meetings. As a market leader in the Meeting Services space today, we have significant access to more meeting data than any other organisation in Singapore, which offers the opportunity to provide an in depth analysis of AGM activities, combining detailed voting and attendance outcomes across SGX listed entities.

This paper aims to deliver insights by decoding the following key questions:

1. What are some of the prevailing trends at AGMs today?
2. How is technology impacting the way we deliver our AGMs today?
3. How is the evolving regulation and its landscape shaping our AGM environment today?

This section sets out the breadth and scope of our paper. The insights and analysis provided here were acquired through BoardRoom’s coverage of our clients where we provided AGM meetings and Electronic Polling services.

Logistics continue to be a key consideration when it comes to AGMs today. The needs and requirements largely vary across different companies but still driven by expected interest in attendance by shareholders and the Board of Directors (“BOD”) attitude towards its AGM as a communication event. Hotel’s continue to be the preferred choice of venue for the majority of companies to enable the facilitation of large shareholder crowds. However, we have observed an emerging trend towards simple venue layouts with minimal refreshments to ensure full participation and engagement on pertinent issues.