Latest news with #shareholderproposals
Japan Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Mizuho to enhance client support amid rise of activist investors
Mizuho Investor Relations will strengthen advisory services for clients concerned about shareholders' voting behavior, amid an increase in proposals from activist investors, President Eiichi Yamazaki said in a recent interview. The company can "forecast shareholder votes well and give advice," Yamazaki said. While companies receive more shareholder proposals than before, a decline in the number of stable shareholders due to the unwinding of cross-shareholdings has made it more challenging to predict how shareholders will vote on them. Yamazaki said that Mizuho Investor Relations will leverage its extensive data on institutional investors' voting guidelines and past behavior. The company will "analyze each proposal based on shareholder composition and develop action plans, including shareholder returns," in collaboration with its parent company, Mizuho Securities, he said. He also said Mizuho Investor Relations will reinforce the business of enabling companies and investors to have two-way dialogue. The company has established a web studio for its client firms to use for briefings to investors. It will also promote interactions between companies and individual investors via influencers who share financial information. Mizuho Investor Relations, previously called Japan Investor Relations and Investor Support, plans to increase staff in its investor relations business by 1.5 times in the near future and double its sales within five years, Yamazaki said.
CTV News
21-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘New kind of frontier': Shareholder proposals on AI becoming increasingly widespread
A gamer's hand rests on an illuminated keyboard Friday, Aug. 29, 2014, at the Penny Arcade Expo, a fan-centric celebration of gaming in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) When Canada's most valuable companies hosted their annual general meetings this year, there was a new topic for shareholders to vote on among the usual requests to appoint board members and OK their executive compensation. The proposal from Quebec-based investor rights group le mouvement d'éducation et de défense des actionnaires centred on artificial intelligence. It asked 14 companies, including Canada's biggest banks, retailer Dollarama Inc. and telecom giant BCE Inc., to sign a voluntary code of conduct the federal government developed to govern the technology. Experts say the proposal is likely just the start of what they expect to become an annual phenomenon targeting the country's biggest companies — and beyond. 'This is a new kind of frontier in Canada for shareholder proposals,' said Renée Loiselle, a Montreal-based partner at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. 'Last year, this was not on the ballot. Companies were not getting shareholder proposals related to AI and this year, it absolutely is.' Loiselle and other corporate governance watchers attribute the increase in AI-related shareholder proposals to the recent rise of the technology itself. While AI has been around for decades, it's being adopted more because of big advances in the technology's capabilities and a race to innovate that emerged after the birth of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot in 2022. The increased use has revealed many dangers. Some AI systems have fabricated information and thus, mislead users. Others have sparked concerns about job losses, cyber warfare and even, the end of humanity. The opportunities and risks associated with AI haven't escaped shareholders, said Juana Lee, associate director of corporate engagement at the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE). 'In Canada, I think, in the last year or two, we're seeing more and more shareholders, investors being more interested in the topic of AI,' she said. 'At least for SHARE ourselves, many of our clients are making it a priority to think through what ethical AI means, but also what that means for investee companies.' That thinking manifested itself in a proposal two funds at the B.C. General Employees' Union targeted Thomson Reuters Corp. with. The proposal asked the tech firm to amend its AI framework to square with a set of business and human rights principles the United Nations has. It got 4.87 per cent support. Meanwhile, MÉDAC centred its proposals around Canada's voluntary code of conduct on AI. The code was launched by the federal government in September 2023 and so far, has 46 signatories, including BlackBerry, Cohere, IBM, Mastercard and Telus. Signatories promise to bake risk mitigation measures into AI tools, use adversarial testing to uncover vulnerabilities in such systems and keep track of any harms the technology causes. MÉDAC framed its proposals around the code because there's a lack of domestic legislation for them to otherwise recommend firms heed and big companies have already supported the model, director general Willie Gagnon said. Several companies it sent the proposal to already have AI policies but didn't want to sign the code. 'Some of them told us that the code is mainly designed for companies developing AI, but we disagree about that because we saw a bunch of companies that signed the code that are not developing any AI,' Gagnon said. Many of the banks told MÉDAC they'll soon sign the code. Only CIBC has so far. Conversations with at least five companies were fruitful enough that MÉDAC withdrew its proposals. In the nine instances where the vote went forward, the proposal didn't succeed. It garnered as much as 17.4 per cent support at TD Bank but as little as 3.68 per cent at engineering firm AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. Loiselle said you can't measure the success of a proposal based on whether it passes or not. 'The goal of these shareholder proposals is more for engagement,' she said. Sometimes, even just by filing a proposal, companies reveal more about their AI use or understand it's an important topic for shareholders and then, discuss it more with them. While proposals don't always succeed, Lee has seen shareholder engagement drive real change. SHARE recently had discussions with a large Canadian software company. AI was central to its business but didn't crop up in its proxy statement — a document companies file governing their annual general meetings. The firm also had no board oversight of the technology. SHARE was able to get the company, which Lee would not name, to amend its board charter to include oversight of AI and commit to more disclosure around its use of the technology in its annual sustainability report. 'This is a really positive development and it's leading to improvement related to further transparency,' she said. If the U.S. is anything to judge by, Lee and Loiselle agree Canadian shareholders will keep pushing companies to adhere to higher AI standards. South of the border, AI-related proposals first cropped up around two years ago. They've targeted Apple, The Walt Disney Co. and even Netflix, where a vote on disclosing AI use and adhering to ethical guidelines amassed 43.3 per cent support. The frequency and spectrum of AI-related requests shareholders have only grown since and is likely to be mirrored in Canada, Loiselle said. 'The landscape for shareholder proposals is changing and I think that change is here to stay,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'New kind of frontier': Shareholder proposals on AI becoming increasingly widespread
When Canada's most valuable companies hosted their annual general meetings this year, there was a new topic for shareholders to vote on among the usual requests to appoint board members and OK their executive compensation. The proposal from Quebec-based investor rights group le mouvement d'éducation et de défense des actionnaires centred on artificial intelligence. It asked 14 companies, including Canada's biggest banks, retailer Dollarama Inc. and telecom giant BCE Inc., to sign a voluntary code of conduct the federal government developed to govern the technology. Experts say the proposal is likely just the start of what they expect to become an annual phenomenon targeting the country's biggest companies — and beyond. "This is a new kind of frontier in Canada for shareholder proposals," said Renée Loiselle, a Montreal-based partner at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. "Last year, this was not on the ballot. Companies were not getting shareholder proposals related to AI and this year, it absolutely is." Loiselle and other corporate governance watchers attribute the increase in AI-related shareholder proposals to the recent rise of the technology itself. While AI has been around for decades, it's being adopted more because of big advances in the technology's capabilities and a race to innovate that emerged after the birth of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot in 2022. The increased use has revealed many dangers. Some AI systems have fabricated information and thus, mislead users. Others have sparked concerns about job losses, cyber warfare and even, the end of humanity. The opportunities and risks associated with AI haven't escaped shareholders, said Juana Lee, associate director of corporate engagement at the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE). "In Canada, I think, in the last year or two, we're seeing more and more shareholders, investors being more interested in the topic of AI," she said. "At least for SHARE ourselves, many of our clients are making it a priority to think through what ethical AI means, but also what that means for investee companies." That thinking manifested itself in a proposal two funds at the B.C. General Employees' Union targeted Thomson Reuters Corp. with. The proposal asked the tech firm to amend its AI framework to square with a set of business and human rights principles the United Nations has. It got 4.87 per cent support. Meanwhile, MÉDAC centred its proposals around Canada's voluntary code of conduct on AI. The code was launched by the federal government in September 2023 and so far, has 46 signatories, including BlackBerry, Cohere, IBM, Mastercard and Telus. Signatories promise to bake risk mitigation measures into AI tools, use adversarial testing to uncover vulnerabilities in such systems and keep track of any harms the technology causes. MÉDAC framed its proposals around the code because there's a lack of domestic legislation for them to otherwise recommend firms heed and big companies have already supported the model, director general Willie Gagnon said. Several companies it sent the proposal to already have AI policies but didn't want to sign the code. "Some of them told us that the code is mainly designed for companies developing AI, but we disagree about that because we saw a bunch of companies that signed the code that are not developing any AI," Gagnon said. Many of the banks told MÉDAC they'll soon sign the code. Only CIBC has so far. Conversations with at least five companies were fruitful enough that MÉDAC withdrew its proposals. In the nine instances where the vote went forward, the proposal didn't succeed. It garnered as much as 17.4 per cent support at TD Bank but as little as 3.68 per cent at engineering firm AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. Loiselle said you can't measure the success of a proposal based on whether it passes or not. "The goal of these shareholder proposals is more for engagement," she said. Sometimes, even just by filing a proposal, companies reveal more about their AI use or understand it's an important topic for shareholders and then, discuss it more with them. While proposals don't always succeed, Lee has seen shareholder engagement drive real change. SHARE recently had discussions with a large Canadian software company. AI was central to its business but didn't crop up in its proxy statement — a document companies file governing their annual general meetings. The firm also had no board oversight of the technology. SHARE was able to get the company, which Lee would not name, to amend its board charter to include oversight of AI and commit to more disclosure around its use of the technology in its annual sustainability report. "This is a really positive development and it's leading to improvement related to further transparency," she said. If the U.S. is anything to judge by, Lee and Loiselle agree Canadian shareholders will keep pushing companies to adhere to higher AI standards. South of the border, AI-related proposals first cropped up around two years ago. They've targeted Apple, The Walt Disney Co. and even Netflix, where a vote on disclosing AI use and adhering to ethical guidelines amassed 43.3 per cent support. The frequency and spectrum of AI-related requests shareholders have has only grown since and is likely to be mirrored in Canada, Loiselle said. "The landscape for shareholder proposals is changing and I think that change is here to stay," she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025. Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SINOVAC Board of Directors Strongly Denounces Deceptive and Illegal Claims by SAIF and the Imposter Former Board
Special Meeting was validly adjourned until the appropriate court can make a final decision on the validity of the PIPE shares SAIF's "announcement" about voting results demonstrates blatant disregard for the law and the Company's bylaws and a repeated pattern of self-serving and unlawful actions by the Imposter Former Board Current Board remains the only valid board of directors of the Company and will continue to govern SINOVAC BEIJING, July 09, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors of SINOVAC Biotech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SVA) ("SINOVAC" or the "Company"), a leading biopharmaceutical company in China, categorically rejects the recent deceptive and illegal claims by SAIF and the Imposter Former Board that it purported to "reconvene" the adjourned Special Meeting of Shareholders (the "Special Meeting") and announced sham voting results of the shareholder proposals. At the July 8, 2025 Special Meeting, SINOVAC Chairman Chiang Li validly adjourned the meeting, to preserve the integrity of the Special Meeting and protect shareholder interests, pending the resolution of litigation in Antigua related to the validity of the 11.8 million shares purportedly issued following an invalid private investment in public equity ("PIPE") to Advantech/Prime and Vivo Capital (together known as the "Dissenting Investor Group"). SINOVAC shareholders should ignore SAIF's lies. SAIF and the Imposter Former Board did NOT have the authority or any legal basis to "reconvene" the Special Meeting following the valid adjournment. SAIF's self-declaration of a final tally of shareholder votes was a complete sham. SINOVAC is evaluating its legal remedies with respect to the deceptive and unlawful conduct of SAIF and the Imposter Former Board, including with authorities in Antigua and the United States. William P. Fiske, Head of M&A and Contested Situations at Georgeson, SINOVAC's proxy solicitor, stated, "At the time of the Special Meeting, according to our preliminary voting tallies, the Company's White Proxy Card secured overwhelming support from valid shareholders for the current SINOVAC Board. Had the injunction granted by the Antigua Court not been temporarily stayed, the shareholders would have voted in favor of the current SINOVAC Board." SAIF and the Gold Proxy Card secured little support outside of the same incumbent group that has propped up the Imposter Former Board to seize control of SINOVAC and destroy value for all valid common shareholders – just as they did during the seven years that they held SINOVAC hostage. The Imposter Former Board's refusal to acknowledge the lawful adjournment of the Special Meeting and their fabrication of the meeting's outcome are wholly illegal, invalid, and reckless. The rightful SINOVAC Board remains in place and will continue to govern the Company. The Board has a duty to implement the UK Privy Council's judgment and order, which includes resolving the question of the validity of the PIPE shares. The Board will continue to fight on behalf of all SINOVAC shareholders and remains committed to its mission of restoring fairness, delivering value and protecting the rights of all valid shareholders. About SINOVAC Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (SINOVAC) is a China-based biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the R&D, manufacturing, and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases. SINOVAC's product portfolio includes vaccines against COVID-19, enterovirus 71 (EV71) infected Hand-Foot-Mouth disease (HFMD), hepatitis A, varicella, influenza, poliomyelitis, pneumococcal disease, etc. The COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVac®, has been approved for use in more than 60 countries and regions worldwide. The hepatitis A vaccine, Healive®, passed WHO prequalification requirements in 2017. The EV71 vaccine, Inlive®, is an innovative vaccine under "Category 1 Preventative Biological Products" and commercialized in China in 2016. In 2022, SINOVAC's Sabin-strain inactivated polio vaccine (sIPV) and varicella vaccine were prequalified by the WHO. SINOVAC was the first company to be granted approval for its H1N1 influenza vaccine Panflu.1®, which has supplied the Chinese government's vaccination campaign and stockpiling program. The Company is also the only supplier of the H5N1 pandemic influenza vaccine, Panflu®, to the Chinese government stockpiling program. SINOVAC continually dedicates itself to new vaccine R&D, with more combination vaccine products in its pipeline, and constantly explores global market opportunities. SINOVAC plans to conduct more extensive and in-depth trade and cooperation with additional countries, and business and industry organizations. Important Additional Information and Where to Find It In connection with SINOVAC's Special Meeting, SINOVAC has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and mailed to shareholders of record entitled to vote at the Special Meeting a definitive proxy statement and other documents, including a WHITE proxy card. SHAREHOLDERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS WHEN FILED WITH THE SEC AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THOSE DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and other interested parties will be able to obtain the documents free of charge at the SEC's website, or from SINOVAC at its website: You may also obtain copies of SINOVAC's definitive proxy statement and other documents, free of charge, by contacting SINOVAC's Investor Relations Department at ir@ Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "potential," "continue," "is/are likely to" or other similar expressions. Such statements are based upon current expectations and current market and operating conditions and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's or Board's control, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company and Board do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law. View source version on Contacts Investor and Media Contact FGS GlobalSinovac@ Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
13-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Corporate Japan's Shareholders Show More Clout This AGM Season
A record number of Japanese companies saw shareholder proposals pass at their annual general meetings this year in a sign that investors are exerting more influence in the market. While shareholders in general still support company management, the notable break from their passive stance is seen as a boon for funds looking to invest in Japan. Activist investors have been inundating companies with an unprecedented number of proposals at meetings, calling for action such as the disposal of real estate, changes in strategy and bigger stock buybacks.
