COVER STORY – JSE

JSE’s virtual meeting service offering meets evolving market needs.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to tighten Covid-19 regulations at the end of May, aimed at averting the further spread of Covid-19, is additional confirmation that the “new normal” of virtual business meetings are now the norm.

In response to the restrictions and social distancing measures introduced early last year, for safety and convenience, most companies have adopted virtual platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. This makes it easier for people to gather online or work remotely in the safety and comfort of their homes.

Companies and the eventing industry have also come up with ways to integrate virtual events and face-to-face engagement. These hybrid experiences, according to some industry experts, will become the event industry’s mainstay. Marco Giberti, co-author for the new book, Reinventing Live, recently told Forbes Magazine that “this trend will facilitate and accelerate hybrid events and a new generation of face-to-face event experiences.”

One of the main drivers for companies to use virtual meetings is that they save time and money, enabling them to slash travel budgets and other related operational costs. Hybrid events offer the flexibility to deliver staff training and host client meetings, and sensitive events such as Annual General Meetings (AGMs).

Since the introduction of South Africa’s national lockdown last year, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), launched virtual meetings and events. The JSE, through its service provider, The Meeting Specialist (TMS), provides a quick, secure and accurate technologybased shareholder meeting solution. TMS has deployed the Zoom and GoToWebinar platforms that cater for up to fifty people for smaller, intimate meetings and more than five hundred people – suitable for AGMs, respectively.

“The response from the market is heartening,” said Feroza Naidoo, acting manager: Issuer Services at the JSE. “The uptake for virtual meetings and webinars has soared to fifty per cent and indications are that the demand will continue to increase,” she added.

“We fully understand our clients’ need for security, auditable recordkeeping and convenience. The platform is adaptable, scalable and may be branded in line with a client’s corporate identity,” Ms Naidoo explained.

There is a voting capability built in at the backend of the platform, enabling participants to see votes for AGM resolutions in real-time. Live votes are cast during the meeting, seamlessly counted and integrated with proxy data, and the results are immediately available for display.

“Using unmoderated communication through the platform, shareholders can either voice their comments or questions verbally or type it in the Q&A chat box,” Ms Naidoo added.

The other convenience is that in the past, AGM organisers had to call shareholders and send documents to them. Now, shareholders may pre-register and access preloaded documents prior to the AGM.

Features and benefits of the virtual meeting platform include:

• Voting on company resolutions for

AGMs may be done from remote locations.

• A concise record of all attendees, their input into the meeting as well as voting tallies.

• Connects participants from any location.

• Remote participation through any smart device.

• Secure auditing.

• Outlook integration.

• Attendance reports and poll results are processed and audited, and full reports, detailing every vote cast, are produced instantly at the conclusion of the meeting.

Notwithstanding, companies must always bear in mind that shareholders’ meetings are primarily governed by the provisions of the Companies Act. Those opting for virtual AGMs must ensure that these meetings comply with the applicable statutory provisions.

JSE virtual training

The JSE also provides training, predominately attended by C-suite executives and senior staff who generally have limited time, on business issues such as investor relations, corporate governance and sustainability. Virtual training allows anyone with a computer or smart phone connected to the internet to participate. This explains why attendance has increased phenomenally compared to the dozen participants which the JSE used to host face-to-face, in classroom sessions.

Ms Naidoo says that she has received positive feedback from AGM participants and training attendees and looks forward to broadening the services to more listed companies as the world continues to operate virtually.