SIAS has said that the share register of Sino-Environment is open, with no controlling shareholder; correcting my presumption that the EDs and connections could still control the company.
SIAS goes on to urge “minority shareholders to turn up in force at the EGM to support the Independent Directors (IDs) as their combined votes are important to ensure that the proposal to remove the EDs wins shareholder approval.” (A quibble here: If there is no-one or group with a controlling interest, how can there be “minority shareholders”? SIAS must mean “small shareholders”. Sorry it’s the lawyer in me.)
On a very serious note: What are the implications, if at the EGM, there is a majority who vote against the removal of the EDs?
What happens when shareholder democracy clashes with possible corporate misdeeds? Remember, unlike directors (who have to act in the best interests of the company), shareholders can act in their selfish interests. Shareholders who find themselves “at the wrong end of the stick” as the English expression goes, have to go to court to protect their interests. How will everything then play out?
When general Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington in 1781 (effectively ending the American Revolution), the surrendering British army’s band is reputed to have played “World Turned Upset Down”. If the EDS remain in office after the EGM, some assumptions of company law and the listing manual, may be founding wanting.
As someone interested in the intricacies of company law and the listing manual and how they interact, I selfishly hope that the EDs win.
I know, I know. No a charitable tot at Christmas, especially towards many of the shareholders of the company. But they have to live with the consequences of their actions or inactions. No-one forced them to buy this particular S-Chip.
Thoughts of a Cynical Investor 