FT, 12 March 2020, AGMs Impacted by Coronavirus

FT quoted Cliff Weight and reported that HSBC warns of potential disruption to AGM from coronavirus- UK-listed groups consider options in case of restrictions to mass gatherings. see https://www.ft.com/content/f9233d54-63b6-11ea-b3f3-fe4680ea68b5

Cliff Weight, director of investor group, ShareSoc, which on Wednesday postponed its own annual meeting until July, said: “There is no doubt that elderly people are more at risk and many of those attending AGMs fall in the high-risk category, so they and many others may choose not to attend.”…

…Mr Weight said companies that host regular shareholder engagement meetings will “receive a sympathetic response to whatever decisions they make”. But groups that had not established trust with their shareholders “will struggle with these decisions and the idea of closed meetings will be viewed with great suspicion”.