Singapore Stock Exchange consults public on the One Share, One Vote Structure

In another initiative about the one share one vote structure, the Singapore Exchange started a public consultation to listen to the opinion of market participants on whether it should ban the listing of companies with dual share class structures.
Associations of minority shareholders, such as the US Council of Institutional Investors and the Asian Corporate Governance Association, were unequivocally against the possible listing of companies with multiple share classes. According to the ACGA, “dual class shares are not a suitable policy response to the issues highlighted [by the Stock Exchange] – and will almost certainly prove counterproductive.”
The association also says that these structures “have the potential to threaten the quality of Singapore’s equity market, resulting in unintended consequences that cannot be managed with “appropriate safeguards.” According to the ACGA, the proposal of allowing dual class shares will be largely enjoyed by a small group of intermediaries, but not by investors.
Click here to access the documents disclosed by CII and ACGA.