A ranking of listed companies' investor relations practices - The Economic Times

A ranking of listed companies' investor relations practices - The Economic Times: "NEW DELHI: At a time when there is increased focus on corporate governance, a new ranking system developed by a private entity will benchmark the investor relations practices of Indian companies against their global peers.

IR Global Rankings (IRGR) would carry out indexing of companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

IRGR's system focuses on investor relations practices that include corporate governance practices and financial disclosure procedures.

'We are honoured and excited to have India as a single region and to be conducting its ranking,' IR Global Rankings Head Luar Huber in a statement.

Many Indian corporates, including the likes of Infosys Technologies, Aditya Birla Nuvo, Sun Pharmaceutical and Tata Consultancy, have already registered themselves for the rankings."

Centre may allow small shareholders to choose director

Centre may allow small shareholders to choose director: "Centre may allow small shareholders to choose director

To pave the way for small groups of shareholders to nominate a director on the board of listed companies, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is set to bring in more clarity to a provision in the Companies Act 1956. A senior government official said the provision was dropped in the Companies Bill 2009 but may find place in the revised Bill. Other emerging economies, including China and Brazil, already have a set procedure in place to empower small shareholders.

Ministry of corporate affairs is expected to specify the procedure to be followed by small shareholders to elect their nominee in the revised Companies Bill 2011. The Act of 1956 allowed a group of 1,000 or more small shareholders to appoint their nominee on the company board, but it lacked clarity."

Pratip Kar: The global market turmoil & Clause 49

Pratip Kar: The global market turmoil & Clause 49: Clause 49 may have become dated. It was incorporated as a new Clause in the Listing Agreement in 2000, subsequently amended in 2004, implemented in 2006 and there was a small amendment in 2008. But the corporate governance landscape, both in India and globally, has changed and is still evolving. There was the global financial crisis in 2008 and, recently, scandals involving some US companies and personalities. In India, we had the accounting scandal at Satyam Computers. The scandal involving Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation is causing endless worries to the Financial Reporting Council in the UK. These have given rise to serious governance issues straddling roles of the boards, independent directors, risk management, executive compensation and ethical and value-based management. Whether the present Clause 49 adequately addresses these issues needs to be examined."