SSE Pilots Online Voting Reminder Services to Facilitate Small and Medium-sized Investors' Participation in Shareholders' Meetings of Listed Companies

Recently, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) issued a business notice to member units and listed companies about piloting online voting reminder services for shareholders' meetings. The notice requires member units to enhance their trading client interfaces' reminder functions to ensure investors are promptly informed about upcoming shareholders' meetings. Besides, the SSE will offer online voting reminder services. Listed companies can authorize the SSE to send reminders to investors through smart SMS and other methods free of charge. This pilot program is part of the SSE's efforts to implement the State Council's guidelines on strengthening regulation, forestalling risks and promoting the high-quality development of the capital market and support small and medium-sized investors.

Participating in shareholders' meetings and voting on proposals are crucial for investors to exercise their rights and protect their legitimate interests. Online voting has become the primary method for small and medium-sized investors to engage in shareholders' meetings. In practice, the long interval between the notice and the actual shareholders' meeting, along with the lack of reminder arrangements, has caused inconvenience for investors participating in online voting.

This pilot program aims to leverage technology to directly remind every investor about attending shareholders' meetings and voting and ensure that small and medium-sized investors who wish to vote can do so promptly. Specifically, the program will add rolling reminders and other notifications on the trading client interfaces used by investors, ensuring they receive timely information about shareholders' meetings. Moreover, the program allows listed companies to authorize the SSE to send reminders, including invitations to shareholders' meetings and proposals, to each investor through smart SMS and other methods free of charge.

In the future, the SSE plans to promote the mutual recognition of certification mechanisms with telecom operators. This will enable investors to vote directly upon receiving smart SMS reminders, facilitating "direct information access and one-click voting" for online voting at shareholders' meetings. During the pilot period, the SSE will actively seek feedback from market entities and investors. It aims to improve online voting services for shareholders' meetings and provide more efficient and user-friendly services for investors.