Читать книгу A Review of IR Practices in Bahrain - Mohamed Sr. Isa - Страница 13

We are living the e-era. The letter “e” is added to many familiar words denoting the use of the internet as a means of delivery. For example, e-Commerce refers to carrying commerce using the internet whereas e-Government refers to the delivery of government services using the internet such as visa issuance and utilities bills payment.

In the arena of IR, the letter “e” has been added to the word Proxy to form the term “e-Proxy.” Companies use e-Proxies to deliver Annual General Meetings materials to their shareholders instead of physical documents sent by surface mail. In most cases, the e-Proxy is made available through companies’ websites.

The e-Proxy provides companies with several benefits including cost savings on printing and shipping costs of materials. For example, United Technologies Corporation estimates that it saved around USD One Million on such costs (DeMars, 2007). Microsoft, Sara Lee and Pharmos, all US-Based companies, have all reported six figures savings of American Dollars using E-Proxies (IR Magazine, April 2008). In addition, companies are likely to see an increase in voting speed and more participation by shareholders. The US SEC reported that 10.7 million shareholders agreed to receive e-Proxy materials electronically and 88% of votes made in 2006 were made through e-Proxies (DeMars, 2007). These relatively high figures in USA are likely to been seen in other parts of the world in the near future.

It should be noted that the US Securities & Exchange Commission has already made it mandatory to make the proxy materials available on the internet with effect of July 1, 2007. (Securities & Exchange Commission, 2007).