The principles and norms of corporate governance tend to operate through layers. On the one hand, there is the basic legislation, i.e. the Companies Act, SEBI Act and the like. Then there are specific norms in the form of clause 49 of the listing agreement that are mandatory for listed companies. Finally, there could be voluntary guidelines that exhort companies towards higher standards. That...
“Dual-class” Share Structures
The recent NYSE listing of Alibaba has once again brought to the fore the issue of dual-class share structures, as discussed in this column in the Economist. Alibaba’s founder and a group of insider shareholders have control rights that are disproportionate to their economic rights. The wave of dual-class structures in tech-IPOs was triggered by Google’s IPO in 2004, which was followed by another...
Report on Gender Diversity in Corporate Boards
The issue of board diversity has acquired considerable prominence in recent times. Although there can be various hues to the concept of diversity, one manifestation relates to gender diversity and the requirement for women directors on corporate boards. What began as a useful management strategy has acquired regulatory overtones. Several countries have incorporated gender diversity into their...
SEBI’s Revisions to Corporate Governance Norms
In April this year, SEBI had announced a revamped clause 49 of the listing agreement specifying the revised corporate governance norms to come into effect from October 1, 2014. This was to bring the SEBI norms in line with the Companies Act, 2013 (2013 Act). However, in certain material respects, the new clause 49 differed from the provisions of the 2013 Act, in that clause 49 imposed a more...
A Radical Idea for Restructuring Corporate Boards
Last week’s Schumpeter column in the Economist carries a provocative idea that involves a complete relook at the way boards of companies are structured and operated. It borrows a proposal from an article titled “Boards-R-Us: Reconceptualizing Corporate Boards” authored by two leading US corporate law academics. The column summarizes the proposal as follows: In the May edition of the Stanford Law...
OECD Report on Related Party Transactions in India
The topic of related party transactions (RPTs) has acquired tremendous importance lately and has been the subject matter of intense discussion and debate both on this Blog (here) and elsewhere (here, here and here). The discussions focus on the specifics and the interpretation of the Companies Act and the Rules promulgated by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) that deal with RPTs. In the...
Guest Post – MCA amends RPT rules: Makes provisions stricter
[The following post is contributed by Vinod Kothari and Shampita Das of Vinod Kothari & Company. They can be contacted respectively at [email protected] and [email protected]] The latest setback from the MCA has come by way of the amendments to the Companies (Meetings of Board and its Powers) Rules, 2014 (MBP Rules) vide its notification dated 14th August, 2014, which is yet to...
Paper on Squeeze Outs in India
Professor Vikramaditya Khanna and I have co-authored a working paper titled “Regulating Squeeze Outs in India: A Comparative Perspective” that is now available on SSRN. The abstract is as follows: Squeeze outs are both visible and palpable manifestations of a controlling shareholder’s raw power within the corporate machinery – the ability to openly force minority shareholders to exit the company...
Guest Post: Corporate Law Reforms and Whistleblowing
[The following post is contributed by Suprotik Das, a 3rd year law student at the Jindal Global Law School, Sonepat, Haryana] Last year, with the advent of the Companies Act, 2013 (the Act), the thrust has been toward fraud protection and having an effective corporate vigil mechanism. Companies in India are now required to have an appropriate whistle blower protection policy in place. In this...
Legislative & Regulatory Initiatives in Corporate Governance
Prof. N. Balasubramanian has a new research paper titled Strengthening Corporate Governance in India: A Review of Legislative and Regulatory Initiatives in 2013-2014 that is available on SSRN. The abstract is as follows: The passing of the long awaited Companies Act in 2013 is probably the single most important development in India’s history of corporate legislation, next only to the monumental...
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