Alibaba's 28 partners, mainly founders and senior executives, want to keep control over a majority of the board, even though they own only around 13 percent of the company. (Reuters)
It is quite amazing that the authorities in Hong Kong, traditionally not known for strict corporate governance, make a stand and bloc this move while other, much older , financial centres with a reputation to lose are in a race to offer more 'flexibility' in order to chase the IPO business.
This raises a number of questions
1 - is there a race to the bottom in regulatory affairs, contrary to all intentions proclaimed by global regulators?
2 - what is the role of board - should Management pick directors (effectively controlling itself)?
3 - should different voting rights be allowed, and if so under what circumstances?
4 - what obligations - if any - do the financial 'advisors' facilitating the IPO have? are they responsible to shareholders or do they only have to look after their own narrow financial interests?
27-Sept-2013
A few years ago, I shared observations as I was heading out on parental
leaves for my son and my daughter. Now, I’m gearing up for a different
reason – tho...
14 hours ago