BUSINESS ARTICLE

Singapore AGM Season 2026: Insights and Trends From 167 General Meetings

Singapore AGM Season 2026: Insights and Trends From 167 General Meetings

As the number one share registrar in Singapore and Malaysia by market capitalisation, and Singapore’s leading share registry services provider, BoardRoom serviced 167 annual general meetings (AGMs), extraordinary general meetings (EGMs), and special general meetings in April 2026. These represented 44.53% of companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

April remains the peak of Singapore’s AGM calendar because most SGX-listed issuers close their financial year on 31 December and must hold the AGM within four months of the year end, under SGX Listing Rule 707(1) and section 175 of the Companies Act 1967.

About the data: This report covers the 167 general meetings BoardRoom serviced in April 2026. Year-on-year comparisons are based on companies that held April meetings in both 2025 and 2026.

Key Takeaways

  • BoardRoom serviced 167 meetings in April 2026, representing 44.53% of SGX-listed companies. Of these, 64% were held in the final week of April and 97% were held in physical mode.
  • Among companies that held meetings in both years, attendance rose 21% to 19,709, while hybrid attendance rose 375%.
  • Electronic polling was used at 55% of physical meetings, with 94% of those meetings using handsets.
  • Proxy forms received fell 26% to 5,761, while the most common meeting now runs between one and one and a half hours.

Singapore: The April 2026 Season

Meeting format: when and how companies met

Nearly two thirds of meetings were held in the final week of April. 29 April alone accounted for 21% of the total.

 

Week  Meetings  Share of meetings 
Week beginning 13 April  13  8% 
Week beginning 20 April  47  28% 
Week beginning 27 April  107  64% 
Total  167  100% 

 

Of the meetings held on 29 April, 37% started at 10am, compared with 35% on the same date in 2025.

Physical meetings remained the norm: 97% were held in physical mode and 3% were hybrid, up from 1% in the 2025 season.

 

Format  2025 season  2026 season 
Physical  172 (99%)  162 (97%) 
Hybrid  2 (1%)  5 (3%) 
Total meetings serviced  174  167 

Communication: hardcopy notices remain universal

Every meeting mailed a hardcopy notice of meeting, proxy form, or letter to shareholders and unitholders.

 

Communication practice  Meetings  Share 
Hardcopy notice, proxy form, or letter mailed  167  100% 
Hardcopy annual report or circular mailed  26  16% 
Hardcopy annual report or circular available on request  138  82% 
Switched from on request in 2025 to no on-request option in 2026  3  2% 

 

The 16% mailing rate is broadly in line with the 14% recorded in 2025. Making hardcopy annual reports or circulars available on request remained the most common approach, used at 82% of meetings compared with 86% in 2025.

Attendance: up 21% year on year

Among the 147 companies that held April meetings in both years and reported attendance for both, total attendance rose 21% to 19,709.

Physical attendance increased by 18%, while hybrid attendance rose 375% from a low base.

 

Attendance (147 companies with meetings in both years)  Physical  Hybrid  Total 
2025  16,084  170  16,254 
2026  18,901  808  19,709 
Change  +2,817 (+18%)  +638 (+375%)  +3,455 (+21%) 

Shareholder engagement: questions before the meeting

Nearly every meeting (99%) gave shareholders a way to submit questions in advance. Many companies used BoardRoom’s Question Deposition Service to receive those questions, through the channels below.

 

Question Deposition Service channel  Companies 
Designated email address  4 
Post  30 
Designated email address and post  48 
Designated email address, post and pre-registration site  1 
Total  83 

 

Questions were received before 57% of meetings, up from 51% in 2025. Of these, 93% answered the questions through SGXNET ahead of the meeting. This excludes meetings that received questions only from the Securities Investors Association (Singapore).

The five topics shareholders raised most often were:

  1. Company strategy and future plans
  2. Financial performance
  3. Dividends and distributions
  4. Mergers, demergers, acquisitions and divestments
  5. Share or unit buy-backs and renewal of the share purchase mandate

 

Strategy questions this season were frequently framed around Middle East tensions and the resulting rise in global fuel prices, and their effect on material, freight, logistics and insurance costs, supply-chain lead times and margins. Company strategy moved to first place from second in 2025, when questions on United States tariffs drove the topic

Voting and proxy processing

Electronic polling was used at 55% of physical meetings, and 94% of those used handsets rather than shareholders’ own devices.

Where paper polling was used, counting could take up to half of the meeting time.

 

Meeting format  Poll type  Meetings  Share of format 
Physical (162)  Paper poll, Excel (manual)  34  21% 
  Paper poll, BR Poll (semi-automated)  39  24% 
  Electronic poll, handsets  84  52% 
  Electronic poll, bring your own device (BYOD)  5  3% 
Hybrid (5)  BYOD on site and online voting for remote attendees  3   
  Handsets on site and online voting for remote attendees  2   

 

Electronic polling was used at 52% of physical meetings in 2025. This points to a continued, gradual shift towards e-polling.

A total of 118 companies used BoardRoom’s Proxy Deposition Service, the same number as in 2025. Most accepted proxies through both email and post.

 

Proxy Deposition Service channel  Companies 
Post  18 
Email address  1 
Email address and post  96 
Email address, post and pre-registration site  3 
Total  118 

 

Proxy forms  2025  2026  Change 
Received  7,780  5,761  -2,019 (-26%) 
Processed  6,798  4,916  -1,882 (-28%) 

 

The five resolutions that attracted the most poll votes were unchanged from 2025:

  1. Re-election of directors
  2. Financial report
  3. Auditor
  4. Dividend
  5. Directors’ fees

Meeting duration

Meetings ran longer than in 2025. The largest duration category was one hour to under one and a half hours, covering 36% of meetings.

Overall, 62% of physical meetings lasted between 30 minutes and one and a half hours.

 

Duration  Physical  Hybrid  Total  Share 
Under 30 minutes  9  0  9  5% 
30 minutes to under 1 hour  42  1  43  26% 
1 hour to under 1.5 hours  59  1  60  36% 
1.5 hours to under 2 hours  32  1  33  20% 
2 hours to under 2.5 hours  19  1  20  12% 
2.5 hours and above  1  1  2  1% 
Total  162  5  167  100% 

 

Among the 157 companies that held meetings in both years, meetings lasting between one and two hours rose from 43% to 57% of the total, while meetings lasting less than an hour fell from 41% to 31%.

 

Duration (157 companies with meetings in both years)  2025 season  2026 season  Change 
Under 30 minutes  11  8  -3 
30 minutes to under 1 hour  54  40  -14 
1 hour to under 1.5 hours  37  58  +21 
1.5 hours to under 2 hours  30  31  +1 
2 hours to under 2.5 hours  21  18  -3 
2.5 hours and above  4  2  -2 

Refreshments and door gifts

Refreshments remained the most common provision. In 2026, 57% of meetings provided refreshments only, while 34% provided neither.

Among the 156 companies with meetings in both years, the 2025 figures were 68% for refreshments only, 2% for vouchers or door gifts only, and 30% for neither.

 

Provision (167 meetings)  Meetings  Share 
Refreshments only  95  57% 
Voucher or door gift only  15  9% 
Nothing provided  57  34% 
Total  167  100% 

 

Among the 156 companies with April meetings in both years, fewer provided refreshments only, while vouchers and door gifts increased from a low base.

Overall, 6% fewer provided refreshments, vouchers or door gifts than in 2025.

 

Provision (156 companies with meetings in both years)  2025  2026  Change 2025 to 2026 
Refreshments only  106  89  -16% 
Voucher or door gift only  3  13  +333% 
Nothing provided  47  54  +15% 

Key considerations for the next season

  • Book early for the final week of April. 64% of meetings were held during that week, with 21% on 29 April alone.
  • Plan for more attendees and longer meetings. Attendance rose 21%, while the typical meeting runs one to one and a half hours.
  • Treat hybrid as a live option. Only 3% of meetings offered the option, but hybrid attendance rose 375%.
  • Consider electronic polling. Paper polls took up to half of the meeting time, while electronic polling was already used at 55% of physical meetings.
  • Use the pre-meeting question window. 57% of meetings received questions in advance, giving companies an opportunity to address shareholder concerns before the live session.

BoardRoom’s share registry, AGM management, e-polling and proxy processing teams supported 44.53% of SGX-listed companies through the 2026 season, and the same teams carry issuers through dividend distribution after the meeting, the basis on which BoardRoom remains Singapore’s leading share registry services provider.

BoardRoom’s Malaysia AGM season report covers January to June 2026.

About BoardRoom

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To discuss support for your next general meeting in Singapore, contact BoardRoom.

Frequently asked questions

1. When must an SGX-listed company hold its AGM?

Within four months of its financial year end, under SGX Listing Rule 707(1) and section 175 of the Companies Act 1967.

2. How does e-polling work at a Singapore AGM?

Shareholders and proxies register on arrival and receive a handset, or use their own device, to cast votes on each resolution. Votes are tallied electronically and the scrutineer certifies the result, which removes manual counting.