Shareholder Meetings and Corporate Governance

Annex A. Survey results comparative tables

The Annex contains nine data tables which present information collected through the questionnaire submitted to the Corporate Governance Committee and answered by 50 jurisdictions as well as some data included in the 2023 edition of the OECD Corporate Governance Factbook, updated to 52 jurisdictions as of end of 2024.

Table A A.1. Recommendations and guidance on AGMs adopted by jurisdictions

Jurisdiction	Corporate Governance Code	Other guidance documents*
Argentina	Corporate Governance Code, Practices No 27, 28
Australia	ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations, Principle 6
Belgium	Belgian Code on Corporate Governance 2020, Principle 8
Canada		Canadian securities regulators provide updated guidance on virtual shareholder meetings
Chile	General Rule No. 30 General Rule No.435 General Rule No.461
Costa Rica	CONASSIF Corporate Governance Regulation	Guideline D.P.J.-001-2020 Holding of meetings and board/administrative meetings through the use of electronic means
Colombia	Código País 2014. Section II, Measures 8 to 12	Best Practices Guide for Virtual Meetings of Securities Issuers
Czech Republic	Czech Corporate Governance Code 2018, Chapter 2
Finland	Finnish Corporate Governance Code 2025, Section I
Hong Kong (China)		HKEX Guide on general meetings HKEX Guide on distribution of dividends and other entitlements, Section 3 Guidance Note – Good Practice on Holding Virtual or Hybrid General Meetings
Hungary	BSE Corporate Governance Recommendations, Section I
India		Guidance Note on General Meetings by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India
Indonesia		Regulation of KSEI Number XI-B Regarding the Procedure for the Convening of Electronic General Meeting of Shareholders Supplemented by the Casting of Votes through Electronic General Meeting System of KSEI (eASY.KSEI)**
Ireland	Irish Corporate Governance Code 2024, Provision 4
Japan	Japan’s Corporate Governance Code, Principle 1.2
Korea		Korea’s Board Operation Guidelines
Latvia	Corporate Governance Code, Principles 14, 15, 16
Lithuania	The Corporate Governance Code for the Companies Listed on NASDAQ OMX Vilnius, Principle VI
Luxembourg	X Principles of Corporate Governance of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, Principle 10
Malaysia	Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance, Principle C, Section II	Guidance Note and FAQs on the Conduct of General Meetings for Listed Issuers issued by Securities Commission Malaysia Bursa Malaysia Corporate Governance Guide, Pull-out III
Netherlands	Dutch Corporate Governance Code, Chapter 4
Peru	Code of Good Corporate Governance for Peruvian Companies (2013), Pillar II
Portugal	Corporate Governance Code, Chapter III
Singapore	Code of Corporate Governance, Principle 11	Guide on Best Practices for Shareholder Meetings of Listed Companies SGX Practice Note 7.5 General Meetings Standard for Vendors of Virtual/Hybrid General Meeting Systems
South Africa	King IV Report, Principle 16
Switzerland	Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance, Section 1-8.
Türkiye	II-17.1 Communique on Corporate Governance, Annex 1	Regulation on the Procedures and Principles of the General Assembly Meetings of Joint Stock Companies and the Representatives of the Ministry to be Present at these Meetings, Annex 5 (Model Internal Directive for AGM)
United Kingdom	UK Corporate Governance Code, Principles 37-40	FRC Good Practice Guidance for Company Meetings
United States		SEC Staff Guidance for Conducting Shareholder Meetings in Light of COVID-19 Concerns

Note: *Other guidance documents can be issued by the securities regulator or stock exchange and are considered to have a significant impact on practices for general shareholder meetings.

**The document refers to a binding instrument.

Source: OECD surveys.

Table A A.2. Virtual and hybrid shareholder meetings

Jurisdiction	Provisions allowing remote meetings (L, R, C, -, NP)		Provision in the articles of association, bylaws or equivalent		Code of conduct for remote meetings (L, R, C, -)		Equal participation of all shareholders (L, R, C, -)3
	Hybrid meetings1	Virtual meetings2	Hybrid meetings	Virtual meetings	Code of conduct at jurisdiction level	Code of conduct at company level
Argentina	L	L	L	L	-	L4	L
Australia	L	L	L	L	-	-	L5
Austria	L	L	L	L	-	-	L
Belgium	L	L	-	-	-	-	L
Brazil	L	L	-	-	L	-	L
Bulgaria	L	L	L	L	-	-	L
Canada	L			L	C	-	L
Chile	L	L	-	-	-	-	L
China	L	NP6	L	NP	R	R	R
Colombia	L	L	-	-	-	-	L, C
Costa Rica	C	C	C	C	-	-	L
Croatia	L	L	L	L	-	L	L
Czech Republic	L	L	L	L	-	-	L
Denmark	L, C	L	-	L	-	-	-
Estonia	L	L	-	-	-	-	-
Finland	L	L	-7	L	-	L	L
France	L	L	L	L	-	-	L
Germany	L	L	L	L	-	-	L
Greece	L	L	-	-	-	-	L
Hong Kong (China)8	L, C	L, C	L	L	-	-	L, R,9 C
Hungary10	L, C	L, C	L, C	L, C	-	-	L
Iceland	L	L	-	L	-	-	-
India	-	L	-	-	-	-	L11
Indonesia	L	L	-	-	L	L	L, C
Ireland12	L	L	-	-	-	-	L
Israel	L	L	-	-	L	-	L
Italy	L	-13	L	-	-	-	-
Japan	L	L	-	L	C	-	L
Korea14	C	C	C	C	-	-	-
Latvia	L	L	-	L	-	-	L
Lithuania	L	L	-	L	-	L (+ board to approve rules of procedures for participation and voting in virtual meetings)	L, C
Luxembourg	L	L	L	L	-	-	L
Malaysia15	L, R	L	-	-	C	-	L, R, C
Mexico	L	L	L	L	-	-	L
Netherlands	L	NP	L	NP16	-	-	L
New Zealand	L	L	-	-	-	-	C17
Norway	L	L	-	-	-	-	-
Peru	-	L	-	L	-	-	L
Poland	L	L	L	L	-	L	L
Portugal	L	L	-	-	-	-	L
Romania	L18	-	-	-	-	-	L
Saudi Arabia	L	L	-	-	L	L	L
Singapore19	L, R	L	-	-	C	-	R
Slovak Republic	-	-	L	L	-	-	-
Slovenia	L	-	L	-	-	-	-
South Africa	L, R	L, R	L, R	L, R	-	C (Company policies)	L
Spain	L	L	-	-	L	L	L
Sweden	L	L	-	L	-	-	-
Switzerland	L	L	-	L	-	L	L
Türkiye	L	NP	L	NP	L		L
United Kingdom	L	-	-	-	-	-	C
United States20	L	L

Notes: Key: L = specified by the law or regulations; R = specified by the listing rule; C = specified in recommendations by the codes or principles; “-” = absence of a specific requirement or recommendation; NP = not permitted.

1. Hybrid meetings are defined as shareholder meetings in which certain shareholders may choose to attend the meeting and exercise their rights physically and others virtually.

2. Virtual meetings are defined as shareholder meetings in which all shareholders who attend the meeting do so virtually and are able to exercise their corresponding rights by virtual means.

3. Equal participation is intended to measure whether jurisdictions provide in their legal and/or regulatory framework any provision or recommendation concerning the possibility for shareholders to engage and participate regardless of how the meetings is held and how they choose to participate. Equal participation may include aspects such as the possibility for shareholders to engage with and ask questions to boards and management in comparison to physical meetings, provide comments and access information and, therefore, does not intend to measure the possibility for remote voting during remote shareholder meetings.

4. In Argentina, under Art. 29 of Section II, chapter II, Title II of CNV Rule No. 622/13 (Ordered Text 2013), companies must establish the procedures to hold remote meetings, including those related to shareholder voting rights and participation.

5. In Australia, all meetings regardless of how they are held must give the members as a whole a reasonable opportunity to participate. This includes holding the meeting at a reasonable time and place and using reasonable technology. Members are also able to exercise their rights to ask questions and make comments regardless of the format of the meeting.

6. In China, the revised Company Law stipulates that shareholder meetings may be conducted by means of electronic communication, unless otherwise provided in the company’s articles of association (Article 24). However, according to the Listing Rules, the shareholder meeting of a listed company shall set up a venue and be convened by a combination of on-site meeting and internet voting.

7. In Finland, according to the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act, a board of directors can decide that shareholders are allowed to participate with full shareholders’ rights to a hybrid general meeting. However, the Act provides a possibility to limit or deny the use of hybrid general meetings in the articles of association of a company.

8. In Hong Kong (China), the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2022 was passed on 18 January 2023 to expressly cater for the scenario of local companies holding fully virtual or hybrid general meetings without limiting them to physical venues. The Companies (Amendment) Bill 2022 was gazetted on 27 January 2023 and came into operation on 28 April 2023.

9. In Hong Kong (China), the Core Shareholder Protection Standards (Appendix A1 to the Listing Rules) require that members of an issuer must have the right to speak and vote at a general meeting, except where the Listing Rules require a member to abstain from voting. In August 2024, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited proposed requiring an issuer to ensure that its constitutional documents enable the holding of general meetings virtually with the use of technology, and where members can cast votes by electronic means. In addition, the Companies Ordinance requires that the virtual meeting technology used for holding a virtual or hybrid general meeting must be a technology that allows a person to listen, speak and vote at the meeting without being physically present at the meeting (Section 547(1)). This requirement is also set out in the Guidance Note – Good Practice on Holding Virtual or Hybrid General Meetings issued by the Companies Registry.

10. In Hungary, members may exercise their rights by means of electronic communications instead of personal attendance at the meeting of the supreme body, if the instrument of incorporation specifies the electronic communications equipment allowed to be used, as well as the condition and the mode of their use, in a manner that ensures the identification of members and their mutual and unrestricted communication (Civil Code 3:111Section (2)).

11. In India, the facility for a virtual meeting should have a capacity to allow at least 1 000 members to participate on a first-come‑first-served basis. The large shareholders (i.e. shareholders holding 2% or more shareholding), promoters, institutional investors, directors, key managerial personnel, the chair of the audit committee, nomination and remuneration committee and stakeholder’s relationship committee, auditors, may be allowed to attend the meeting without restriction on account of first-come‑first-served principle.

12. In Ireland, the Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Act 2024 entered into force on 3 December 2024 and amended the Companies Act 2014 to introduce the possibility of holding both hybrid and virtual meetings.

13. In Italy, exceptional temporary measures adopted during the pandemic to, among other things, allow companies to hold virtual meetings and hold hybrid meetings regardless of bylaws provisions were extended until 31 December 2024.

14. In Korea, running a hybrid meeting depends on the board’s decision or articles of association. However, virtual participants are not able to have a voice or right to vote at the ongoing meeting; e‑notices and e‑voting provisions are regulated in separate chapters. Draft amendments have been proposed by the Ministry of Justice in 2023 to allow for virtual and hybrid meetings.

15. In Malaysia, following the amendments to the Bursa Malaysia Main Market Listing Requirements, all listed issuers in Malaysia will be required to hold in-person or hybrid general meetings from 1 March 2025. Listed issuers will be also required to ensure all shareholders are accorded with similar rights to speak and vote at the general meeting.

16. In the Netherlands, a bill enabling companies to hold fully virtual meetings is currently in parliament. The bill would require a provision in the articles of association.

17. In New Zealand, the NZX Corporate Governance Code recommends that issuers design shareholder meeting arrangements to encourage shareholder participation and provide shareholders the option to receive communications from the issuer electronically.

18. In Romania, the Companies Law, as revised in December 2024, requires that if remote electronic participation is allowed in general meetings, the notice must include relevant procedures. Listed companies may permit shareholders to join via live transmission, two-way communication, or an electronic voting system. The board must approve procedures in advance, and the convening notice must outline voting methods.

19. In Singapore, listed companies are only allowed to hold physical or hybrid meetings according to Practice Note 7.5 in the SGX Listing Manual. The Practice Note also states that shareholders have the right to participate fully in general meetings, regardless of the format of the meeting. These rights include the right to attend, ask questions, communicate their views, appoint proxies or vote at general meetings.

20. In the United States, state law, rather than federal law, governs the legality of corporations holding virtual or hybrid shareholder meetings. As of early 2023, the majority of the 50 US states permitted shareholder meetings to be held remotely.

Source: (OECD, 2023[1]) with updates as of end of 2024 from OECD surveys.

Table A A.3. Identifying shareholders eligible for voting and proxy voting frameworks

Jurisdiction	Record date of ownership1		Sale of share after record date (Allowed/ No)	Deadline for appointing a proxy before AGM		Cut-off date2		Facilitating online/electronic voting		Allowing shareholders/proxies to vote remotely during AGM
		Time before AGM			Time before AGM		Time before AGM	Before AGM	During AGM	Share holders	Proxies
Argentina	L	At least 3 business days	No	L	Minimum 3 business days	-	-	-	-	L	L
Australia	L, R	Maximum 48 hours	Allowed	L	At least 48 hours	-	-	L, C	L, C	L, C	L, C
Austria	L	10 days	-	-	-	-	-	L	L	L	L
Belgium	L	14 days		L	6 days	L	6 days (1 day for electronic voting)	L	L	L	-3
Brazil	-4	-	-	-	-	L	4 days	L	L	L	-
Bulgaria	L	14 days	Allowed	L	Max. 2 business days5	-	-	-	-	L	L
Canada	L, R	21-60 days	Allowed	L, R	Max. 2 business days	L	48 hours	-	L, R	L, R	L, R
Chile	L	5 days	Allowed	L	-	-	-	-	L	L	L
China	L	Maximum 7 business days	-	-	-	-	-	L	L	L	L
Colombia	L	-	-	-	-	L	-	L	L	L	L
Costa Rica	-	-	Allowed	-	-	-	-	-	C	C	C
Croatia	L	21 days	-	-	-	-	-	L	L	-	-
Czech Republic	L	7 days	Allowed	-	-	-	-	L	L	C	-
Denmark	L	1 week	Allowed	-	-	-	-	C	L, C	L	L
Estonia	L	7 days		-	-	-	-	-	L	L	-
Finland	L	8 business days	Allowed	L	-6	-	-	L	L	L	-
France	L	2 days	Allowed	-	-	L	1 day	L	L	-	-
Germany	L	6 days	Allowed	-	-	-	-	L	L	L	L
Greece	L	Up to 5 days	-	L	2 days	-	-	-	L	L	L
Hong Kong (China)	C7	-	-	L	Max. 48 hours	L	Max. 48 hours	-	L, C	L, R, C	L, R, C
Hungary	L	2 business days	Allowed	-	-	L	2 business days	-	-	L, C	L, C
India	L	Maximum 7 days	Allowed	L	48 hours	-	-	L	-	L	-
Indonesia	L	22 working days	-	L	1 working day	L	1 working day	L	L, C	L, C	L, C
Ireland	L	48 hours8	Allowed	L	At least 48 hours9	L	48 hours	L	L	L	L
Israel	L	Minimum 4 days and maximum 21 days	Allowed	-	-	L	4 hours10	L	-	L	L
Italy	L	7 market days11	Allowed	L	-12	L	1 day for electronic and mail voting only	L	L	L	L
Japan	L	Within 3 months	Allowed	-	-	L	-13	C	-	L	L
Korea	L	Within 3 months	Allowed	-	-	-	-	L	-	-	-
Latvia	L	5 business days	Allowed	L	Just before AGM	L	1 day	L	L, C	L, C	L
Lithuania	L	5 business days	Allowed	-	-	-	-	L, C	L, C	L, C	L
Luxembourg	L	14 days	Allowed	-	-	-	-	L, C	C	-	-
Malaysia	L, R	3 market days	-	L	Max. 48 hours	-	-	-	L, C	C	L, C
Mexico	L	5 business days	No	L	15 days	-	-	-	L	L	L
Netherlands	L	28 days	Allowed	-	-	L	28 days	L	L	L	L
Norway	L	5 days	Allowed	-	-	-	-	L	L	L	-
Peru	L	2 days	-	L	24 hours	-	-	-	L	L	-
Poland	L	16 days	Allowed	-	-	-	-	L	L	L	L
Portugal	L	5 trading days	Allowed	L	5 market days14	-	-	C	C	-	-
Romania	L	Minimum 48 hours and maximum 30 days	Allowed	L	48 hours or term set by AoA	L	48 hours or term set by AoA	L	L	L	L
Saudi Arabia	L	End of trading day before AGM		L	2 days	L	3 days	L	L	L	L
Singapore	L	72 hours	Allowed	L	72 hours	L	72 hours	C	L, R, C	L, R	L, R
Slovak Republic	L	3 days	Allowed	-	-	L	-	L	L	-	-
Slovenia	L	7 days	-	-	-15	-	-	L	L	L	L
South Africa	L, R	10 business days	Allowed16	-	-	-	-	-	L	L	L
Spain	L	5 days	Allowed	-	-	-	-	L	L	L	L
Sweden	L	6 business days, allowing nominees to make final registrations no later than 4 business days prior to the AGM	Allowed17	-	-	-	Voting normally takes place at the AGM, either in person or via a nominee. For practical reasons, issuers allowing postal voting normally set a deadline for postal voting a few days before the AGM.	L	L	L	L
Switzerland	C	Few days	-	C18	-	-	-	-	-	L, C	L, C
Türkiye	L	At the end of the day before the AGM meeting	Allowed	L	At the end of the day before the AGM	L	At the end of the day before the AGM	L	L	L	L
United Kingdom	L	48 hours	-	L	48 hours	-	-	C	C	C	-
United States	L19	-	-	-	-	-	-20	C	C	-	-

Notes: Key: L = requirement by the law or regulations; R = requirement by the listing rule; C = Recommended by the codes, principles, or other guidance, including frameworks set by the regulator or stock exchange following a “comply or explain” approach; “-” = absence of a specific requirement or recommendation.

1. Record date of ownership is defined as the deadline for shareholders to be registered and identified to be eligible for voting.

2. Cut-off date is defined as the deadline of proxy voting before the AGM.

3. In Belgium, no specific provisions are provided for proxies’ rights to vote remotely during AGMs. However, a valid proxy gives the proxy holder the same rights as the shareholder they represent.

4. In Brazil, public companies can request the prior deposit of the shareholder’s documents mentioned in the notice, however, shareholders who attend the general meeting in person can participate and vote as long as they present the identification documents until the time scheduled for the meeting. In order to participate and vote virtually by electronic systems during digital or hybrid general meetings, the company may require shareholders to deposit identification documents up to two days before the date scheduled for the meeting. In order to participate in the voting for the election of one board members without the participation of the controlling shareholder, shareholders must prove uninterrupted ownership of the required stake of shares during a period of at least three months immediately prior to the holding of the general meeting.

5. In Bulgaria, when a deadline is set, it must be disclosed in the notice on the convocation of the general meeting.

6. In Finland, a listed company shall specify in a notice the conditions for a shareholder’s right to participate in the general meeting by proxy.

7. In Hong Kong (China), an updated Listing Rule requiring issuers to set a record date to determine the identity of security holders eligible to attend and vote for general meetings will be effective on 1 July 2025.

8. In Ireland, the record date is 72 hours in the case of uncertified securities (1087G (1) CA).

9. In Ireland, the instrument of proxy must be deposited not later than 48 hours or shorter period as the company’s constitution may provide. The appointment and notification of appointment of a proxy to a traded PLC and the issuing of voting instructions to the proxy may be subject only to such formal requirements as are necessary to ensure the identification of the shareholder or proxy or to verify the content of the voting instructions and only to the extent that those requirements are proportionate to achieving those objectives.

10. In Israel, the Israel Securities Authority may set an earlier voting deadline, but no more than 12 hours before the general meeting begins.

11. In Italy, shareholders holding the shares at the record date shall ask, via the last intermediary to the issuer, registration to the AGM until two market days after the record date (Art. 42 of the Consob/Bank of Italy Post-trading Regulation).

12. In Italy, no deadline is set by the rules for shareholder voting. Once the registration at the AGM has been asked to the intermediary until two market days after the record date, the shareholder can decide to nominate a proxy or to vote directly until the opening of the AGM.

13. In Japan, the cut-off date for electronic proxy voting is the time set by the company, which is either the end of business hours of the day before the AGM or the day after two weeks have passed since the day on which the notice of the AGM was issued.

14. In Portugal, the Portuguese Companies Code (PCC) provides that shareholders must appoint/register a proxy no later than five days before general shareholder meeting. According to CMVM’s guidance, the deadline is the day before the fifth trading day prior to the date of the meeting or, if the articles of association set so, a shorter deadline.

15. In Slovenia, there are no specific provisions regarding the deadline for appointing or registering a proxy before general shareholder meetings however the articles of association may require that shareholders notify their participation prior to the general meeting being held as a condition for participating. In this case it shall be sufficient that shareholders notify their participation no later than at the end of the fourth day prior to the general meeting. The mentioned provision would also apply for appointing a proxy.

16. In South Africa, the last day to trade (LDT) is three days before record date. The LTD is used to determine the record date and the register, but it does not prevent trading in sharing after the record date.

17. In Sweden, the record date is the date when the shareholder must be recorded as a shareholder in the presentation of the share register of the company. From a legal perspective, the shareholder may divest its positions and still be able to vote at the AGM provided that the shareholder must be recorded in the share registered as of the record date.

18. In Switzerland, the Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance 2023 notes that the proxy should treat the instructions received from individual shareholders confidentially until the general shareholders’ meeting and may give the company general information on the instructions received no earlier than three working days before the general shareholders meeting.

19. In the United States, US state corporate law generally governs the setting of a record date for purposes of identifying shareholders that are eligible to vote at a shareholder meeting. The US state law in which the company is organized generally would prescribe the deadline and whether shares must be held until the meeting.

20. In the United States, there is no such provisions under the US federal securities laws. However, in practice, the deadline is typically shortly before the annual shareholder meeting (e.g., midnight before the meeting).

Source: OECD surveys.

Table A A.4. Information provided to shareholders to attend and prepare for a meeting

Jurisdiction	Meeting format	Venue	How to access the online platform	Instructions to cast votes	Financial statements	Reports on companies’ performance	Profiles of board member candidates
Argentina	L	L	L	-	L	C	C
Australia	L	L	L	L	L	L	C
Austria	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Belgium	L	L	L	L	L	L	-
Brazil	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Bulgaria	L	L	L	-	L	L	L
Canada	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Chile	L	L	L	L	L	L	L, C
China	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Colombia	L	L	-	L	L	L	C
Costa Rica	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Croatia	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Czech Republic	L	L	L	L	L	L	C
Denmark	L	L	L	L	L	L	C
Estonia	L	L	-	L	L	L	-
Finland	L	L	L	L	L	L	C
France	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Germany	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Greece	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Hong Kong (China)	L	L	L	C	L	L	L
Hungary	L	L	L	L	L	L	C
India	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Indonesia	L	L	C	C	L	L	L
Ireland	L	L	L	L	L	L	-
Israel	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Italy	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Japan	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Korea	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Latvia	L	L	L	L	L	L	C
Lithuania	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Luxembourg	L	L	L	L	L	L	-
Malaysia	L	L	C	R	L	L	R
Mexico	L	L	-	-	L	L	L
Netherlands	-	L	-	L	L	C	C
Norway	L	L	L	L	L	L	-
Peru	-	L	-	-	L	L	-
Poland	L	L	L	L	L	L	C
Portugal	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Romania	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Saudi Arabia	L	L	-	L	L	L	L
Singapore	R	R	R	R	L	R	R
Slovak Republic	L	L	-	L	-	-	-
Slovenia	L	L	-	-	L	L	L
South Africa	L	L	L	L	L	-	R
Spain	-	-	-	L	L	L	L
Sweden	L	L	-	L	L	L	C
Switzerland	L	L	L	L	L	L	-
Türkiye	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
United Kingdom	-	L	C	L	L	-	C
United States	L	L	-	L	L	L	L

Note: Key: L = requirement by the law or regulations; R = requirement by the listing rule; C = Recommended by the codes, principles, or other guidance, including frameworks set by the regulator or stock exchange following a “comply or explain” approach; “-” = absence of a specific requirement or recommendation.

Source: OECD surveys.

Table A A.5. Handling questions before and during general shareholder meetings

Jurisdiction	Allowing questions before AGM		Deadline for questions before AGM		Answering questions received before AGM		Answering in specific format		Allowing remote shareholders to send and see other questions during AGM	Displaying questions posed during AGM
	Physical	Virtual1/ Hybrid2	Physical	Virtual/ Hybrid	Physical	Virtual/ Hybrid	Physical	Virtual/ Hybrid		Physical	Virtual/ Hybrid
Argentina	C	C	C	C	C	C	-	-	-	-	-
Australia	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-3	-	-
Austria	-	L	-	L	-	-	-	-	L	-	L
Belgium	L	L	L	L	L	L	-	-	L	-	-
Brazil	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	L	-	-
Bulgaria	L	L	L	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Canada	L	C	L	C	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Chile	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
China	L	L	-	-	L	L	L	L	R	L	L
Colombia	L	L	C	L	C	C	-	-	L, C	-	-
Costa Rica	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	L	-	-
Croatia	L	L	L	L	-	-	-	-	-	L	L
Czech Republic	L	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Denmark	C	C	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Estonia	L	L	L	L	-	-	L	L	-	-	-
Finland	L	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	L	-	-
France	L	L	L	L	-	-	L	L	-	-	-
Germany	-	L	-	L	-	L	L	L	L	-	-
Greece	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hong Kong (China)	-	C	-	C	-	C	-	-	C	-	-
Hungary	L	L	L4	L	L	L	-	-	-	-	-
India	C	C	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Indonesia	L	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	L	C	C
Ireland	L	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Israel	L	L	L	L	-	-	L	L	-	L	L
Italy	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	-	-	-
Japan	L	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Korea	-	-	-	-	-	C	-	-	-	-	-
Latvia	L	L	L	L	L	L	-	-	-	-	-
Lithuania	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Luxembourg	L	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	L	-	-
Malaysia	C	C	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	C	C
Mexico	L	L	L	L	-	-	-	-	L	-	-
Netherlands	C	C	-	-	C	C	-	-	-	-	-
Norway	L	L	L	L	-	-	L	L	-	-	-
Peru	L	L	L	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Poland	-	-	-	-	-	-	L	L	-	-	-
Portugal	C	C	C	C	C	C	-	-	C	L	L
Romania	L	L	L	L	-	-	L	L	-	-	-
Saudi Arabia	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Singapore	R	R	C	C	R	R	R, C	R, C	C	-	-
Slovak Republic	C	-	-	-	C	-	L	L	-	-	-
Slovenia	L	L	L	L	L	L	-	-	-	-	-
South Africa	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	L	-	-
Spain	L	L	L	L	L	L	-	-	-	-	-
Sweden	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Switzerland	C	C	C	C	C	C	-	-	L	-	-
Türkiye	-	-	-	-	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
United Kingdom	C	C	C	C	C	C	-	-	C	-	C
United States	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Notes: Key: L = requirement by the law or regulations; R = requirement by the listing rule; C = Recommended by the codes, principles, or other guidance, including frameworks set by the regulator or stock exchange following a “comply or explain” approach; “-” = absence of a specific requirement or recommendation.

1. Hybrid meetings are defined as shareholder meetings in which certain shareholders may choose to attend the meeting and exercise their rights physically and others virtually.

2. Virtual meetings are defined as shareholder meetings in which all shareholders who attend the meeting do so virtually and are able to exercise their corresponding rights by virtual means.

3. In Australia, remote shareholders have the legal right to send questions during an AGM, but there is no legal right to see other questions.

4. In Hungary, regarding items on the AGM agenda, at the shareholders’ written request submitted at least eight days before AGM, the board of directors answers the questions at least three days before AGM (Section 3:258 (1) of the Civil Code).

Source: OECD surveys.

Table A A.6. Chairing shareholder meetings, answering questions and attendance by directors and external auditor

Jurisdiction	Allocating a block of time for questions during the AGM		Answering all questions during AGM		Procedures for unanswered questions after the meeting		AGM attendance of all board members	Questions to external auditor /audit committee
	Physical	Virtual1/ Hybrid2	Physical	Virtual/ Hybrid	Physical	Virtual/ Hybrid
Argentina	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Australia	L	L	-	-	-	-	-	L
Austria	-	-	L	L	-	-	L	-
Belgium	-	-	L, C	L, C	-	-	-	L
Brazil	-	-	-	-	-	-	L	L
Bulgaria	-	-	L	L	-	-	-	L
Canada	-	C	-	C	-	C	-	L
Chile	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
China	L	L	R	R	-	-	L	L
Colombia	L	L	L	C	-	C	-	L
Costa Rica	L	L	L	L	-	-	-	-
Croatia	L	L	-	-	-	-	-	-
Czech Republic	-	-	L	L	L	L	C	-
Denmark	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Estonia	L	-	L	L	C	C	-	L
Finland	L	L	L	L	L	L	C	L
France	-	-	L	L	L	L	-	-
Germany	-	-	L	L	L	L	L	L
Greece	-	-	C	C	C	C	-	-
Hong Kong (China)	-	-	-	C	-	-	-	C
Hungary	-	-	C	C	C	C	-	C
India	-	-	C	C	-	-	C	C
Indonesia	L	L	L	L	-	-	C	-
Ireland	-	-	L	L	-	-	-	-
Israel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Italy	-	-	L	L	-	-	-	-
Japan	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	L
Korea	-	-	C	C	-	-	-	L, C
Latvia	C	C	L	L	-	-	L	L
Lithuania	L	L	L	L	-	-	L	L
Luxembourg	-	-	L	L	-	-	-	-
Malaysia	-	-	C	C	C	C	C	C
Mexico	-	-	-	-	-	-	L	-
Netherlands	-	-	L	L	-	-	-	C
Norway	-	-	-	-	L	L	-	L
Peru	-	-	L	L	-	-	-	-
Poland	-	-	L	L	-	-	-	-
Portugal	L	L	L	L	-	-	L	L
Romania	-	-	L	L	-	-	L	-
Saudi Arabia	-		L	L	-	-	L	L
Singapore	C	C	R	R	R	R	C	R
Slovak Republic	-	-	-	-	L	L	-	C
Slovenia	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
South Africa	-	-	-	-	-	-	C	C
Spain	-	-	L	L	L	L	-	-
Sweden	-	-	L	L	L	L	-	-
Switzerland	C	C	-	-	-	-	-	L
Türkiye	L	L	L	L	L	L	-	L
United Kingdom	-	-	L	L	C	C	C	C
United States	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Notes: Key: L = requirement by the law or regulations; R = requirement by the listing rule; C = Recommended by the codes, principles, or other guidance, including frameworks set by the regulator or stock exchange following a “comply or explain” approach; “-” = absence of a specific requirement or recommendation.

1. Virtual meetings are defined as shareholder meetings in which all shareholders who attend the meeting do so virtually and are able to exercise their corresponding rights by virtual means

2. Hybrid meetings are defined as shareholder meetings in which certain shareholders may choose to attend the meeting and exercise their rights physically and others virtually.

Source: OECD surveys.

Table A A.7. Shareholder rights to request a shareholder meeting, place items on the agenda and submit new resolutions

Jurisdiction	Request for convening shareholder meeting		Placing items on the agenda of general meetings			Right to propose a resolution during AGM
	Shareholders	The firm	Shareholders		The firm	Scope (Any topic, Related to agenda item)	% of share
	Minimum shareholding	Deadline for holding the meeting after the request	Minimum shareholding	Deadline for the request (before the meeting/ [ ]: after notice)	Accept and publish the request (before meeting)
Argentina	5%	40 days	5%	-	-	Any	100%
Australia	5%	2 months	5% or 100 SHs	2 months	28 days	-	-
Austria	5% with 3 months holdings	-	5% with 3 months holdings	21 days before AGM/ 19 days before EGM	14 (21) days	Related to agenda	Any
Belgium	10%	3 weeks	3%	22 days	15 days	-	-
Brazil	1% / 2% / 3% / 4% / 5% depending on share capital	29 days	1% / 2% / 3% / 4% / 5% depending on share capital	25 or 45 days	21 or 30 days	-	-
Bulgaria	5%	3 months	5%	15 days	The end of the workday following the receipt of request of the shareholders	-	-
Canada (federal)	5%	-	1% 5% for nominating a director	90-150 days before anniversary of previous meeting	21 days to notify of refusal	Any	-
Chile	10%	30 days	10%	10 days	-	-	-
China	10%	2 months	1%	10 days	2 days	-	-
Colombia	10%	-	-	(5 days after notice)	15 days	Any	No threshold for AGM, 70% for EGM
Costa Rica	25%1	30 days	25%	-	-	Related to agenda	-
Croatia	5%	-	5%	24 days	Promptly	-	-
Czech Republic	1% / 3% / 5% depending on share capital	50 days	1% / 3% / 5% depending on share capital	17 days	12 days	Related to agenda	-
Denmark	5%	Minimum 3 weeks and maximum 7 weeks	-	6 weeks		Any	100%
Estonia	10%	1 month	10%	15 days	-	Any	20%
Finland	10%	Minimum 3 weeks and maximum 3 months	-	4 weeks before notice	Required	Any	No threshold
France	5%	35 days	5% or less depending on the company’s share capital	25 days	-	Director removal	-
Germany	5%	Without delay, minimum 30 days	5% or EUR 500 000	30 days	Promptly	Related to agenda	No threshold
Greece	5%	45 days	5%	15 days	13 days for listed companies	Any	5%
Hong Kong (China)	5%	49 days (21 for calling the meeting + 28 for holding the meeting after notice)	2.5% or 50 SHs	6 weeks	Promptly	-	-
Hungary	1%	30 days	1%	[8 days]	Promptly2	Related to agenda	1%
Iceland	5%	-	-	10 days	3 days
India	10% (of paid up share capital corresponding to voting power)	21 days	10% (of paid up share capital corresponding to voting power)	21-45 days	21 days from the date of receipt of requisition	-	-
Indonesia	10%	51 days	5%	28 days	21 days	Any	100%
Ireland	5%	14 or 21 days	3%	42 days	21 days	-	-
Israel	5%	56 days	1%	[21 or 32 days]	14 or 25 days	-	-
Italy	5%	Without delay3	2.5%	[10 days]4	15 days	Related to agenda	1 share
Japan	3% with 6 months holdings	8 weeks	1% or 300 voting rights with 6 months holdings	8 weeks	3 weeks	Related to agenda	No threshold
Korea	1.5% with 6 months holdings	Promptly	0.5% with 6 months holdings5	6 weeks	-	Related to agenda	-
Latvia	5%	3 months	5%	[15 days]	14 days	-6	-
Lithuania	10%	30 days	5%	14 days	10 days	Any	100%
Luxembourg	10%	1 month	5%7	22 days	Publication of revised agenda no later than 15 days before the meeting	Related to agenda8	5%
Malaysia	10%	42 days (14 for calling the meeting, 28 for holding the meeting after notice)	2.5% (or 50 shareholders with average paid-up capital of at least RM 500)	28 days	-	-	-
Mexico	10%	15 days	10%	-	15 days	-	-
Netherlands	10%	6 weeks	3%	60 days	42 days	Any	100%
New Zealand	5%	-	At least 1 share	20 days	5 days
Norway	5%	1 month	At least 1 share	7 + 21 days9	21 days	Any	100%
Peru	20%10	15 days	-11	-	-	-	-
Poland	5%	14 days to call	5%	21 days	18 days	Any/ Related to agenda	100%/ No threshold
Portugal	2%	60 days	2%	[5 days]	5 days if by letter; 10 days by publication	-	-
Romania	5%	60 days (if the request includes provisions falling within the competence of the meeting)	5%	15 days after notice	Before reference date and at least 10 days before meeting	Directors liability	-
Saudi Arabia	10%	51 days (30 for invitation, 21 for holding a meeting)	10%	-	-	-	-
Singapore	10%	As soon as practicable, and no later than 2 months	5% (or 100 members with average paid-up capital of SGD 500)	6 weeks	14 days	-	-
Slovak Republic	5%	40 days	5%	20 days	10 days	Related to agenda	100%
Slovenia	5%	2 months	5%	[7 days]	14 days	Related to agenda	No threshold
South Africa	10%	-	Any 2 SHs	-	-	-	-
Spain	3%	2 months	3%	5 days after announcement	15 days	Related to agenda	-
Sweden	10%	About 2 months	-	7 weeks	Required	Any	No threshold
Switzerland	5%	60 days to grant request	0.5%	>20 days	>20 days	Related to agenda	No threshold
Türkiye	5%	45 days	5%	>3 weeks	>3 weeks	Any12	100%
United Kingdom	5%	49 days	5% or 100 SHs holding together =GBP 10 000	6 weeks	As soon as reasonably practicable after it gives notice of the meeting	-	-
United States	10% (Model Business Corporation Act); Certificate of incorporation or bylaws (Delaware)		Continuous ownership thresholds of at least one to three years and USD 25 000 to 2000	Disclosed in previous year’s proxy statement	Subject to exclusion based on certain criteria	-	-

Note: Key: [ ] = requirement by the listing rule; ( ) = recommendation by code or principles; “-” = absence of a specific requirement or recommendation; Promptly = immediately or within five days of the AGM. Data for Iceland and New Zealand are only available as part of the columns covered by the 2023 OECD Factbook whereas data collected as part of the peer review are not available for these countries.

1. In Costa Rica, it is also possible for the owner of a single share to request the convening of a shareholder meeting and suggest items on the agenda when no meeting has been held for two consecutive financial years and when the meetings held at that time did not deal with ordinary matters, such as the discussion and approval of the financial reports, or the distribution of profits, among others.

2. In Hungary, the invitation for the general meeting shall be published on the company’s website at least 30 days prior to the first day of the general meeting (Art. 3:272 paragraph (1) of the Civil Code) in case of public limited companies.

3. In Italy, while the Civil Code (Art. 2367) requires the meeting to be convened “without delay”, courts have established 30 days as a fair term to call the meeting, without setting a deadline for time required to hold the meeting.

4. In Italy, the default deadline is of ten days, although a shorter deadline of five days applies to meetings called to resolve on measures to contrast a takeover or in case of particular losses in the company’s share capital.

5. In Korea, more than six months shareholding is required for a shareholder of listed companies to qualify. The shareholding threshold of 1% to place items on the agenda applies to companies with equity capital valued under 100 billion won.

6. In Latvia, in civil law there is the principle “what is not prohibited, is permitted”, the law does not prohibit shareholders to propose a resolution for a vote during the meeting. Therefor in practice, there are cases when resolutions are being proposed during a meeting. However, the shareholders must comply with the threshold set by the Commercial Law, that consists of shareholders who represent at least one twentieth of the equity capital of the company. This is equally feasible in physical and virtual/hybrid shareholder meetings.

7. In Luxembourg, Law of 10 August 1915 on commercial companies also allows shareholders holding at least 10% of the subscribed capital to request additional items on the AGM agenda by sending a registered mail request to the company’s registered office at least five days before the meeting.

8. In Luxembourg, moreover the articles of association could allow such possibility. Recommendation 10.6 of the X Principles states that companies “shall acknowledge the right of any shareholder or group of shareholders holding at least 5% of the capital to ask for items to be included in the agenda for the general meeting, and to lodge draft resolutions concerning the items on the agenda of the general meeting.”

9. In Norway, a shareholder can request placing items on the agenda until seven days before the general meeting is convened. The time limit for written notice to all shareholders is 21 days before the company convenes the general meeting.

10. In Peru, a 20% threshold applies to any corporation with securities registered in the SMV and a 5% threshold only applies to a specific group of corporations with dispersed ownership.

11. In Peru, according to Principle 11 “Proposals for agenda items” of the Corporate Governance Code, corporations should include mechanisms in their general shareholders’ meeting rule that allow shareholders to exercise the right to formulate proposals for agenda items to be discussed at the general shareholders’ meeting.

12. In Türkiye, as prescribed in Article 25 of the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles of General Assembly Meetings of Joint Stock Companies, some items can be voted on in the general assembly even if they were not added to the meeting agenda, such as a shareholder’s special audit request or directors’ dismissal based on incompetence or corruption.

Source: (OECD, 2023[1]), with updates as of end of 2024 from OECD surveys.

Table A A.8. Voting practices and disclosure of voting results

Jurisdiction	Formal procedure for vote counting	Disclosure of voting result for each agenda item
		Deadline after GM	Issues to be disclosed
			Outcome of vote	Number or percentage of votes for, against and abstentions
Argentina	Required	1 business day	Required	Required for each resolution
Australia	Required	Immediately	Required	Required for each resolution
Austria	Required	Promptly	Required	Required
Belgium	Required	15 days	Required	Required for each resolution
Brazil	-	Immediately	Required	Required for each resolution
Bulgaria	Required	3 business days	Required	Required for each resolution
Canada	-	Promptly1	Required	Required, if the vote was conducted by ballot
Chile	Required	10 days	Required	Required
China	Required	Promptly (within the allotted time) (SSE) Immediately (SZSE) 2 business days (BSE)	Required	Required for each resolution
Colombia	-	Immediately	Required	Required
Costa Rica	Recommended	Immediately	Required	Recommended
Croatia	Required	Immediately	Required	Required
Czech Republic	Required	15 days	Required	Required
Denmark	-	2 weeks	Required	Required upon shareholders request
Estonia	-	7 days	Required	Required
Finland	Required	2 weeks	Required	Required (if a full account of the voting that has been carried out in the GM)
France		15 days	Required	Required
Germany	-	Promptly	Required	Required
Greece	Required	5 days	Required	Required
Hong Kong (China)	Required	Promptly2	Required	Required
Hungary	Required	Immediately (max. 1 working day)	Required	Required
Iceland	Required	15 days	Required	-
India	Required	Promptly3	Required	Required
Indonesia	Required	2 business days	Required	Required
Ireland	Required	15 days	Required	Required
Israel	Required	Promptly	Required	Required
Italy	Required	5 days4	Required	Required
Japan	Required	Without delay	Required	Required
Korea		Immediately	Required	Required
Latvia	Required	14 days	Required	Required
Lithuania	Required	7 days	Required	Required
Luxembourg	Required	15 days	Required	Required for each resolution
Malaysia	Required	Immediately	Required	Required (disclosure of votes for and against)
Mexico	Required	Immediately	Required	Required
Netherlands	Required	15 days	Required	Required
New Zealand	Upon shareholders request	-	-	-
Norway	-	15 days	Required	Required
Peru	Required	Immediately (if the act is approved in the General Meeting) / 10 days (otherwise)	Required	Required
Poland	Required	1 day	Required	Required
Portugal	-	15 days / Immediately (when qualifying as inside information)	Required	Required
Romania	Required	Immediately	Required	Required5
Saudi Arabia	Required	Immediately	Required	Required
Singapore	Required	Immediately	Required	Required for each resolution
Slovak Republic	Required	15 days	Required	Required for each resolution
Slovenia	Required	2 days	Required	Required
South Africa	Required	Immediately	Required	Required
Spain	Required	15 days	Required	Required
Sweden	Upon shareholders request	2 weeks	Required	Required upon shareholders request
Switzerland	Required	15 days	Required	Required
Türkiye	Required	Immediately	Required	Required
United Kingdom	Required	Immediately	Required	Required
United States	Required	4 business days	Required	Required for each candidate and resolution

Notes: Key: Immediately = within 24 hours. Promptly = may be more than 24 hours after the AGM but no more than five days.“-” = absence of a specific requirement or recommendation.

1. In Canada, the requirement to disclose voting results only applies to issuers listed on senior exchanges (e.g. the TSX).

2. In Hong Kong (China), according to the Listing Rules (Rule 13.39(5)), the poll results of general meetings must be announced as soon as possible, but in any event at least 30 minutes before the earlier of either the commencement of the morning trading session or any pre‑opening session on the business day after the meeting.

3. In India, listed companies are required to disclose the voting results within 48 hours of the conclusion of a general meeting pursuant to submission of a report by the scrutiniser.

4. In Italy, listed companies are also required to publish the minutes of the shareholder meetings, including the details on shareholders attending such meetings and votes cast by each of them on all the items of the meeting’s agenda.

5. In Romania, the issuer must establish for each decision at least the number of shares for which valid votes were cast, the proportion of the share capital represented by those votes, the total number of valid votes cast, as well as the number of votes cast for and against of each decision and, if applicable, the number of abstentions and, within a maximum of 15 days from the date of the general meeting, publish the voting results on its website.

Source: (OECD, 2023[1]) with updates as of end of 2024 from OECD surveys.

Table A A.9. Vote counting, safeguards for digital security risks and technical disruptions, transparency after AGMs

Jurisdiction	Vote counting			Management of digital security risks	Protection of shareholders for issues with access to digital platform / digital disruptions	Uploading answers after AGM on the company’s website		Disclosure of AGM minutes
	Independent party to count / audit voting results	End-to-end vote confirmation	Other			Physical	Hybrid1 /Virtual2
Argentina	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	L
Australia	L	-	R	-	L, C	-	-	L
Austria	L	L	L	L	L	-	-	L
Belgium	-	-	-3	-	L	L	L	L
Brazil	-	-	L	L	-	-	-	L
Bulgaria	-	-	L	L	-	-	-	L
Canada	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	L
Chile	-	-	-	L	L	-	-	L, R
China	L	L	L	R	R	L	L	-
Colombia	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	L
Costa Rica	-	-	-	C	-	-	-	L4
Croatia	L	-	-	-	-	-	-	L
Czech Republic	-	L	-	-	-	L	L	C
Denmark	-	-	L	L	L	-	-	L
Estonia	-	L	L	-	-	-	-	L
Finland	L	L	-	L	L	-	-	L
France	L	-	-	-	-	L	L	L
Germany	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Greece	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	L
Hong Kong (China)	R	-	C	C	C	-	C	L, C
Hungary	-	L	C	C	-	C	C	C
India	L	-	L	-	-	-	-	L
Indonesia	L	C	-	L	L	L	L	L
Ireland	-	-	-	L	L	-	-	L
Israel	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
Italy	L	L	-	L	-	L	L	L5
Japan	L	L	-	L	L	-	-	L
Korea	-	-	-	L, C	-	-	-	L, C
Latvia	-	L	-	L	-	-	-	L
Lithuania	L	L	L	C	C	L	L	R, C
Luxembourg	-	L	-	-	L	-	-	C
Malaysia	R	R	R	C	C	C	C	R, C
Mexico	-	-	-	-	L	-	-	L
Netherlands	-	L	L	-	-	-	-	C
Norway	-	L	-	L	L	-	-	-
Peru	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	L
Poland	-	-	L	-	-	-	-	-
Portugal	-	L	L	L	-	-	-	L
Romania	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Saudi Arabia	-	-	L	L	-	-	-	L
Singapore	R	R	R	C	L, R	R	R	R
Slovak Republic	-	L	L	L	-	-	-	-
Slovenia	-	L	L	L	-	-	-	L
South Africa	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	C
Spain	-	-	-	L	C	-	-	L
Sweden	-	-	-	L	L	-	-	L
Switzerland	-	-	L	L	L, C	-	-	L
Türkiye	-	-	L	L	L	L	L	L
United Kingdom	L	-	-	-	-	C	C	R, C
United States	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Notes: Key: L = requirement by the law or regulations; R = requirement by the listing rule; C = Recommended by the codes, principles, or other guidance, including frameworks set by the regulator or stock exchange following a “comply or explain” approach; “-” = absence of a specific requirement or recommendation.

1. Hybrid meetings are defined as shareholder meetings in which certain shareholders may choose to attend the meeting and exercise their rights physically and others virtually.

2. Virtual meetings are defined as shareholder meetings in which all shareholders who attend the meeting do so virtually and are able to exercise their corresponding rights by virtual means.

3. In Belgium, it is market practice for a company’s bylaws to include provisions on the organisation of AGMs. These provisions generally specify who will act as chair and who will be responsible for counting votes (including verifying proxies, ensuring compliance with quorum requirements, etc.).

4. In Costa Rica, only shareholders may request minutes of the shareholder meetings.

5. In Italy, the minutes of the shareholder meetings include details on shareholders attending such meetings and votes cast by each of them on all the items of the meeting’s agenda.

Source: OECD surveys.

References

[1] OECD (2023), OECD Corporate Governance Factbook 2023, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/6d912314-en.