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IR Magazine, January 7, 2010 article

 

Crossbow logoPeople on the street

Online shareholder forum solicits Siemens

Jan 07, 2010

More forums in development for other companies

Siemens’ shareholders have used an online forum to request more disclosure from the company before voting at its annual meeting later this month.

The shareholders are members of Akionaersforum Siemens, a site launched in December to allow shareholders to discuss and share information prior to the meeting, scheduled for January 26, 2010.

They passed on questions to the forum, which have now been submitted to Siemens. The company is yet to decide to what extent it will engage with the forum, though any responses received will be posted on the forum’s website.

Forum users want more information on two areas under consideration at the meeting: the settlement of corruption claims against former directors dating from 2006, and executive compensation. The latter is a topic of interest among shareholders in light of Germany’s new requirement for a say on pay vote at listed companies. An employee group compensation proposal is also under consideration by Siemens’ shareholders.

Stephen Leininger of Akionaersforum Siemens would not reveal how many users the forum has, but says it is a large enough sample to ‘allow us to clearly indicate the mood of the shareholders’. It is understood that this is disputed by Siemens, however.

The online campaign looks set to be followed by more at other listed companies, as shareholders increasingly look to the web as a place to share information and coordinate campaigns.

To support this, Leininger is developing a new web platform. ‘The current offering is a special project we established for the Siemens AGM,’ he explains. ‘But we are also working on a new platform that enables the owners of companies to practice their right to vote more efficiently.

‘Within this offering Aktionaersforum wants to provide a flexible and modern platform to enable a quick launch of campaigns in the context of special corporate situations, like the current Siemens case. Our main objective is to achieve more transparency and to strengthen shareholder democracy.’

By Tim Human

 

 

 

This special project addressing issues presented for voting by shareholders of Siemens AG is being conducted in cooperation with the Shareholder Forum's independently managed German affiliate, Aktionaersforum AG. Information about the issues, including company reports and investor views, can be found on the Aktionaersforum web site for Siemens. Inquiries about the project, requests to be included in Forum email distributions, and suggestions of issues that may be relevant to shareholder interests can be addressed to siemens@shareholderforum.com.

It is the policy of Forum programs to be open to all shareholders of a subject company and to any fiduciaries or professionals concerned with their decisions, according to the Forum’s stated "Conditions of Participation." In all cases, each participant is expected to make independent use of information obtained through the Forum, and participation is considered private unless the party specifically authorizes identification.

The information provided to Forum participants is intended for their private reference, and permission has not been granted for the republishing of any copyrighted material. The material presented on this web site is the responsibility of Gary Lutin, as chairman of the Shareholder Forum.