Outspoken investors beware

SINGAPORE (Oct 8): Companies in Asia have been the subject of the most number of shareholder activism campaigns so far this year, outside of the US. There were 90 such campaigns across Asia in the first eight months of this year, up from 60 over the same period last year. This was pointed out by Tan Cheng Han, chairman of the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo), in his speech to an audience of company directors on Oct 3.

See also: Minority rights

“Of course, we are nowhere near the hundreds of shareholder activism campaigns that take place in the US each year; nor am I necessarily suggesting that it is good to have anything close to such number[s]. Yet the increasing trend in this part of the world should make us sit up,” Tan says. Investors are becoming more demanding of the companies they invest in, he adds, “and our view is that this is something to be welcomed for the long-term good of our capital markets.”

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