A majority of minority shareholders in the Sri Lankan corporate sector are unaware of the rights and perks they are entitled to as a part of company stakeholders, a joint seminar organized recently by The Chartered Institute of Sri Lanka (CASL) and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) was told.
The seminar focused on areas such as legal provisions available in the Company’s Act to protect minority shareholders, rights and obligations of a shareholder, how to achieve the maximum from a shareholder meeting and, finally, legal recources available for a shareholder in case of a breach of conduct. Deshani Wijaywardena, Attorney at Law, Naomal Goonawardena, Partner Nithya Partners and Roshani Kobbekaduwa, Partner F J & G de Seram participated as the panelists in the seminar.
The following are some of the points focused on at the forum:
In addition to the major shareholders, the minority shareholders do play a vital role in a company’s core structure. Though we are in an age where a massive number of major shareholders have entered the market, it is vital for the minority shareholders to be aware of their rights.
With a lot of large-scale investors and foreign investors entering the local market, it is advisable for the whole corporate community to educate themselves via the country’s ‘Companies Act’. The ‘Companies Act’ highlights the basic frameworks that should be followed and explains all the legal rights that the shareholders of a company are bound to have.
Accordingly, the legitimate rights of a company shareholder can be divided mainly into four categories. Statutory rights, documentary rights, legal rights and proprietary rights can be named as the four categories of rights that a company shareholder is entitled to. Adding to these, the Right to Information and inspection of a company’s records and the right to bring representative suits on a course of action on behalf of the company to prevent or remedy mismanagement or unauthorized acts and to compel the company to enforce his/her rights, could be described as the most important rights that a minority shareholder of a company should be aware of.
If the share market is to be activated, it is imperative that the minority shareholder is adequately protected. The ‘Companies Act’ provides for over 150 offences. Several economists have strongly alleged that most minority shareholders are unaware of their rights while the majority shareholders have all the perks at the expense of the minority shareholders.
www.island.lk
The seminar focused on areas such as legal provisions available in the Company’s Act to protect minority shareholders, rights and obligations of a shareholder, how to achieve the maximum from a shareholder meeting and, finally, legal recources available for a shareholder in case of a breach of conduct. Deshani Wijaywardena, Attorney at Law, Naomal Goonawardena, Partner Nithya Partners and Roshani Kobbekaduwa, Partner F J & G de Seram participated as the panelists in the seminar.
The following are some of the points focused on at the forum:
In addition to the major shareholders, the minority shareholders do play a vital role in a company’s core structure. Though we are in an age where a massive number of major shareholders have entered the market, it is vital for the minority shareholders to be aware of their rights.
With a lot of large-scale investors and foreign investors entering the local market, it is advisable for the whole corporate community to educate themselves via the country’s ‘Companies Act’. The ‘Companies Act’ highlights the basic frameworks that should be followed and explains all the legal rights that the shareholders of a company are bound to have.
Accordingly, the legitimate rights of a company shareholder can be divided mainly into four categories. Statutory rights, documentary rights, legal rights and proprietary rights can be named as the four categories of rights that a company shareholder is entitled to. Adding to these, the Right to Information and inspection of a company’s records and the right to bring representative suits on a course of action on behalf of the company to prevent or remedy mismanagement or unauthorized acts and to compel the company to enforce his/her rights, could be described as the most important rights that a minority shareholder of a company should be aware of.
If the share market is to be activated, it is imperative that the minority shareholder is adequately protected. The ‘Companies Act’ provides for over 150 offences. Several economists have strongly alleged that most minority shareholders are unaware of their rights while the majority shareholders have all the perks at the expense of the minority shareholders.
www.island.lk
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