In a speech to the New Zealand Shareholders Association Conference and AGM, the NZ Commerce Minister, Simon Power, has pledged to include in the Regulatory Reform (Omnibus) Bill 2010, which is currently being drafted, provisions allowing for electronic participation in shareholder meetings. The reform will allow companies to opt-in to using electronic shareholder participation for company decisions.

The NZ Shareholders Association has pressed for this update to the law in recent years. Shareholders Association chairman John Hawkins was quoted in the New Zealand Herald as saying that the change would give people the chance to cast votes directly over the internet while watching a webcast of a meeting. "The rationale is we want to have more international investors in New Zealand. But they have to be able to vote. Now they can only do it by proxy - they can't do it after listening to the arguments."

The Minister also briefed the meeting on the progress in setting up the new Financial Markets Authority which will  consolidate all the functions fragmented across the Securities Commission, the Ministry of Economic Development, including the Government Actuary, and the NZX. It will regulate and oversee trustees, auditors, financial service providers, and financial advisers.

Further Reading

Simon Power, Commerce Minister - Address to New Zealand Shareholders Association Conference and AGM

New Zealand Herald - internet voting Plan announced