Amec contributes to CVM’s Public Hearing about distant vote

The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission – CVM –, through the Office of the Superintendent of Market Development, submitted to Public Hearing a draft of instruction suggesting changes to ICVM no. 480 and 481, aimed primarily to allow and regulate the distant participation and vote in General Shareholders’ Meeting through proxy cards. Contributions to the Public Hearing will be accepted by January, 22.
The mentioned draft also includes the possibility that shareholders with a certain equity interest include candidates in their proxy cards, as well as items in the agenda of General Shareholders’ Meetings.
The text brings several points that have been long advocated by Amec and is mainly aimed to facilitate the exercise of voting rights by investors and minority shareholders, chiefly foreign ones.
Amec’s Technical Commission, comprised of approximately 20 members, has analyzed and discussed the draft of instruction submitted to Public Hearing and decided to include some suggestions and comments to be submitted to the approval of the association’s Executive Board.
Concisely, Amec’s members analyzed and suggested the following matters:

• Exclusion of the intermediary vote map and the possibility of submitting the proxy card directly to the company;
• Adoption of a final and nominal vote map, as well as the creation of mechanisms that confirm that the votes casted by shareholders were duly received and processed;
• Allow that any shareholder requests the creation of a conselho fiscal by means of the proxy card; and
• Adoption of new authorized percentage ranges for the inclusion of candidates and proposal in the proxy card.

Without prejudice to the other topics analyzed by Amec’s Technical Commission, after discussing the above-mentioned matters, the association also reiterated the importance of the Official Letter issued by CMV’s Office of the Superintendent of Companies (SEP/CVM) on a yearly basis, also with regard to the disclosure of the names of candidates suggested by any shareholder to participate in Boards of Directors and Conselhos Fiscais, regardless their equity positions, as well as that CVM ensures the adoption of proxy cards with the same format and content as that provided in the instruction by the ADR depositary banks and the remaining service providers involved in the proxy voting chain with a view to mitigating eventual discrepancies in the voting exercise by local and foreign shareholders.
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