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Full-Text Articles in Law
Rethinking Acting In Concert: Activist Esg Stewardship Is Shareholder Democracy, Dan W. Puchniak, Umakanth Varottil
Rethinking Acting In Concert: Activist Esg Stewardship Is Shareholder Democracy, Dan W. Puchniak, Umakanth Varottil
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
In May 2021, Engine No. 1, an investment fund, was lauded by the responsible investment community for successfully placing three dissident independent directors on ExxonMobil’s board. It achieved this by being a catalyst for institutional investors to become backers of environmental shareholder activism. The unprecedented success of Engine No. 1’s campaign has spurred calls for a new, more sustained, activist engagement model by institutional investors, now known as “activist stewardship”.However, there is a significant legal hurdle that has been almost entirely overlooked by those calling for this new approach for institutional investors to become activist stewards: acting in concert rules. …
The Global Sustainability Footprint Of Sovereign Wealth Funds, Hao Liang, Luc Renneboog
The Global Sustainability Footprint Of Sovereign Wealth Funds, Hao Liang, Luc Renneboog
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
With the emergence of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) around the world managing equity of over $8 trillion, their impact on the corporate landscape and social welfare is being scrutinized. This study investigates whether and how SWFs incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in their investment decisions in publicly listed corporations, as well as the subsequent evolution of target firms' ESG performance. We find that SWF funds do consider the level of past ESG performance as well as recent ESG score improvement when taking ownership stakes in listed companies. These results are driven by the SWF funds that do have …
Theory, Evidence And Policy On Dual-Class Shares: A Country-Specific Response To A Global Debate, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez
Theory, Evidence And Policy On Dual-Class Shares: A Country-Specific Response To A Global Debate, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Dual-class shares have become one of the most controversial issues in today´s capital markets and corporate governance debates around the world. Namely, it is not clear whether companies should be allowed to go public with dual-class shares and, if so, which restrictions (if any) should be imposed. Three primary regulatory models have been adopted to deal with dual-class shares: (i) prohibitions, existing in countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Colombia, or Argentina; (ii) the permissive model adopted in several jurisdictions, including Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands, and particularly the United States; and (iii) the restrictive approach recently implemented in Hong …
The Case Against The Implementation Of Loyalty Shares In Spain, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez
The Case Against The Implementation Of Loyalty Shares In Spain, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The Spanish Ministry of Economy has recently released a new bill that, among other aspects, proposes an amendment of the Spanish Companies Act to allow listed companies to adopt loyalty shares. These shares will confer additional voting rights to those shareholders staying in the corporation for at least two years. For that purpose, the company only needs to approve the adoption of loyalty shares by a qualified majority. Therefore, following the Italian (rather than the French) model of loyalty shares, the adoption of loyalty shares in Spain will be done as an opt-in rule.
Propuesta Para La Mejora Y Modernización De La Legislación Societaria En Ecuador [Proposal For The Improvement And Modernization Of Corporate Law In Ecuador] In Spanish, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez, Cesar Coronel Jones
Propuesta Para La Mejora Y Modernización De La Legislación Societaria En Ecuador [Proposal For The Improvement And Modernization Of Corporate Law In Ecuador] In Spanish, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez, Cesar Coronel Jones
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This paper seeks to provide some policy recommendations for the improvement and modernization of corporate law in Ecuador. These proposals have been based on the international literature and the particular features of Ecuador (that is, a country with many micro and small companies, state-owned enterprises, underdeveloped capital markets, unsophisticated courts, among other aspects). Secondly, since the legal, economic and institutional features of Ecuador can be found in other Latin American countries, this paper also seeks to be helpful to other countries in the region planning to reform their corporate laws. Finally, this paper seeks to contribute to the improvement and …
A One-Size-Fits-All Approach To Corporate Governance Codes And Compliance By Smaller Listed Firms: An Examination Of Companies Listed In Hong Kong And Singapore, Christopher C. H. Chen
A One-Size-Fits-All Approach To Corporate Governance Codes And Compliance By Smaller Listed Firms: An Examination Of Companies Listed In Hong Kong And Singapore, Christopher C. H. Chen
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article examines the impact of a one-size-fits-all corporate governance code on smaller listed firms, which should have fewer resources to hire more qualified independent directors for their boards and board committees. After examining data from a sample of companies listed in Hong Kong and Singapore, we find some limited support for these resources-based arguments. While smaller firms do not necessarily have a lower proportion of board members who are independent directors, some evidence suggests that smaller firms do pay less to independent directors and that these directors have to serve on multiple board committees. Although many larger firms also …
The Law And Finance Of Initial Coin Offerings, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez, Nydia Remolina Leon
The Law And Finance Of Initial Coin Offerings, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez, Nydia Remolina Leon
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The rise of new technologies is changing the way companies raise funds. Along with the increase of crowdfunding in recent years, the use of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) has emerged more recently as a new form to raise capital. Companies in the United States raised more than $4 billion in 2017 and over $6.3 billion were raised through ICOs in the first three months of 2018. In a typical ICO, a company receives cryptocurrencies in exchange for certain rights embodied in “tokens”, whose nature, treatment and implications are generating controversy among securities regulators around the world.
Independent Directors In Singapore: Puzzling Compliance Requiring Explanation, Dan W. Puchniak, Luh Luh Lan
Independent Directors In Singapore: Puzzling Compliance Requiring Explanation, Dan W. Puchniak, Luh Luh Lan
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
At first blush, the rise of independent directors in Singapore provides a straightforward example of a successful legal transplant from the West to Asia. In 2001, Singapore implemented a U.K.-inspired Code of Corporate Governance, which required the adoption of American-style independent directors on a "comply or explain" basis. Shortly thereafter, an overwhelming 98% of Singapore-listed companies reported full compliance. This, combined with Singapore's world-leading economic success, ostensibly confirmed the Anglo-American-cum- global conventional wisdom that American-style independent directors are required for good corporate governance.Using hand-collected data from 245 codes of corporate governance from eighty-seven jurisdictions, this Article reveals, however, that Singapore's …
Equity Swaps And Implications In Company Law: An Examination Of Singapore Law, Chao-Hung Christopher Chen
Equity Swaps And Implications In Company Law: An Examination Of Singapore Law, Chao-Hung Christopher Chen
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article explores issues from the use of equity swaps by corporate stakeholders under Singapore law. The article accepts that non-disclosure of economic interests might have an impact on market efficiency and corporate governance. To address potential problems, Singapore should consider revising the Takeover Code, while it requires further regulatory impact analysis to decide whether amendments to the Securities and Futures Act and the Companies Act are needed. As an alternative, companies can use their articles of association to impose a duty of disclosure before statutory intervention. In addition, the trading of equity swaps by directors raises issues about fiduciary …
The Statutory Derivative Action In Singapore: A Critical And Comparative Examination, Pearlie Koh
The Statutory Derivative Action In Singapore: A Critical And Comparative Examination, Pearlie Koh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
As a mechanism for shareholder control of corporate wrongs and thus as a tool of corporate governance, the statutory derivative action has had much international attention given to it, particularly in the last 10 years. Singapore introduced its statutory derivative action in 1993 and since then, there have been two reported cases in which the action was invoked. In this paper, I consider the Singapore derivative action as contained in sections 216A and 216B of the Singapore Companies Act. The approach taken is a comparative one as I also look at the statutory derivative actions in Australia and other common …