I ATTENDED two insightful and genuinely useful annual general meetings (AGMs) last month.
BBR Holdings' chief executive Andrew Tan and chairman Yong Kwet Yew earnestly answered every question posed to them by the shareholders.
Mr Tan was generous with his insight into the company's operations and the industry's dynamics, and even stayed back after the AGM to explain to some of us the risks and rewards of the company's new business thrusts.
Raffles Medical Group's founder and chairman Loo Choon Yong was a class act too.
His comprehensive answers and obliging demeanour make him a role model for other chairmen.
A great AGM experience has two lasting effects.
First, it is a powerful way for a good company to show how it views accountability.
Second, the insights shareholders glean from the AGM - when taken together with the rest of the publicly available company information - will make any serious investor feel more comfortable with his stake in the company, and give him the confidence to increase it.
Nicholas Chew Chih Loong
