CGI Glass Lewis is pleased to announce the release of its 2015 Australia, New Zealand and South Africa Proxy Season Preview. In this document, we provide an overview of the changing regulatory environment facing companies and shareholders this season. We also summarise the key policy changes for each of those markets.
There have been multiple regulatory developments in Australia that will impact the 2015 proxy season, the largest of which was the roll-out of the third edition of the ASX Corporate Governance Council (“ASXCGC”) Principles and Recommendations. The third edition contains additional guidance on director nominations, KMP appointment agreements, gender diversity reporting, board skills matrices, director independence, director professional development, risk committees and sustainability risks. As with other ASXCGC recommendations, ASX-listed companies will need to report on their compliance with these new recommendations on an “if not, why not” basis. Investors will want to look for additional disclosure in annual reports on these areas. More broadly, gender diversity and board skills are hot topics in the market and should be fertile ground for investor-company discussion.
New Zealand saw a flurry of activity in the governance space during the year, with the Financial Markets Authority updating its best practice guidelines and a new Corporate Governance Forum being formed to push for better governance practices in the market. Companies and investors alike will want to watch the new Forum’s actions guidelines closely, especially given that they approximately 15% of the total New Zealand equity market.
The biggest news coming from South Africa is the announcement that the King III Code, which forms the basis of the market’s governance framework, will be updated over the coming year. King IV will attempt to enhance the accessibility of the “apply or explain” regime for smaller companies. Investors will want to watch this space.
Access the Report:
Clients of Glass Lewis can access the report one of two ways. Those with access to GlassLewis.net can find the report in the Preview/Review section. Those who exclusively use our Viewpoint voting platform, please email your Client Services Manager to request the report.
Non-clients can inquire about our services or ask for more information about this Report by emailing us at CGIGL@glasslewis.com