• The Financial Times reports that Apple investors seek votes on unions, human rights and working from home: “Shareholders want ballot concerning iPhone maker’s stance on sensitive policies at annual meeting”.
• The Financial Times reports that Activist board battles to get more personal: “SEC rule change will allow investors to nominate and seek removal of individual directors”.
• The Financial Times argues that It’s time for tech founders and activist investors to get along: “Interventions from shareholders have hit a nerve as Silicon Valley’s long boom slows”.
• The Wall Street Journal reports Companies Brace for Onslaught of New Activists After Change in Proxy-Voting Rules: “Sinking stock prices and a change in proxy-voting rules are emboldening many first-time shareholder activists to seek changes at some of the biggest names in American corporations. Companies, always wary of activist advances, are feeling particularly vulnerable as a result of new rules imposed by U.S. regulators in September requiring the use of a so-called universal proxy card in corporate-director elections, bankers and lawyers say.”
• The Financial Times reports on The Wall Street fight that has echoes of the cold war: “Dispute between between Politan Capital and Masimo Corp has erupted at a crucial time in activist investing”.
• The Financial Times reports that Philip Morris wins Elliott’s backing for $15.7bn Swedish Match takeover: “Activist hedge fund stands to make about $150mn in profit from deal”.
• The Financial Times reports on Aveva/Schneider: bumpitrage yields small victory for minorities: “Bumpitrage — where activists press would-be acquirers for better deal terms — can be risky. But minority investors in UK software group Aveva, have succeeded in wringing a better buyout offer from Schneider Electric. The French multinational increased its offer by 4 per cent on Friday, valuing Aveva at £9.8bn. Schneider’s offer is now final. Amended terms, not just the higher price, are likely to get holdouts over the line.”
• The Wall Street Journal reports Big Shareholder Signals Opposition to News Corp-Fox Combination: “Independent Franchise Partners, one of largest non-Murdoch holders of both companies, says combination on its own would fail to realize full value of News Corp”.
• The Wall Street Journal reports that Activist Investor TCI Calls on Google Parent Alphabet to Slash Costs: “Hedge fund says company would be more efficient with fewer employees”.
• Bloomberg reports on How Small Shareholders Can Cause Good Trouble: “Fintech startups are helping facilitate an investing revolution beyond meme stocks.”

• Sustainable Views reports on the FCA to establish code of conduct for ESG data and rating providers: “The UK financial watchdog will establish a voluntary code of conduct while it awaits further action from the Treasury. The Financial Conduct Authority has announced it will develop a specific code for ESG data and ratings providers, albeit just on a voluntary basis, to bring greater market transparency.”
• The Wall Street Journal report that Big Banks and U.N. Green Finance Group Clash in Alliance: “Miscommunication, infighting hamper coalition meant to direct trillions of dollars into energy transition”.
• The Financial Times argues that The banking approach to net zero is just claptrap: “The numbers are hokum, the clients are left in the dark and the real world impact is negligible anyway”.
• The Financial Times reports that Climate scientists criticise corporate emissions oversight body SBTi: “Arbiter of net zero plans fails to check accuracy of data reported by companies, says group”.
• The Wall Street Journal asks Why Do ESG Ratings Vary So Widely—and How Can Investors Make Sense of Them?: “As investing based on environmental, social and governance factors continues to grow, investors are faced with a dilemma: Which ESG ratings are they to believe? After all, investors themselves have no idea which companies live up to ESG standards. They need to rely on outside ratings to determine which companies are worth their investment dollars. Yet ESG ratings vary substantially depending on which provider is doing the ratings—to a point where a company could be highly rated with one rating company and have a very low score with another. The correlation between ESG ratings from the six raters my colleagues and I looked at ranged from 0.38 to 0.71, on a scale from minus 1 (meaning total disagreement) to 1 (meaning full agreement). In other words, the six never all agreed on a company’s ESG rating, and in most cases there was little agreement among them.”
• The Wall Street Journal reports that This Former BlackRock Executive Says ESG Investment Model Is Broken: “Terrence Keeley’s new book hints at a quiet debate within a firm that has embraced sustainable investing”.
• Forbes reports The Corporate Proxy Ballot Takes Center Stage For ESG: “The surge of investment assets into environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds is empowering investors and activists to demand action from companies around the world. Increasingly, those demands are materializing as shareholder proposals designed to push companies to change business and disclosure practices related to a range of issues, from emissions and climate change to workforce diversity and inclusion.”
• Bloomberg Law reports New SEC Rules to Shed Light on BlackRock, Vanguard ESG Votes: “New SEC requirements for BlackRock, Vanguard and other mutual fund companies to provide greater detail on their proxy voting records are poised to help socially conscious investors hold them accountable for their pledges on climate, diversity and other ESG priorities. The Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 2 adopted rules that direct funds to give more information about their votes on environmental, social and governance issues, executive pay and other proposals considered at companies’ annual meetings. BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc., which have promoted ESG investing, generally supported the enhanced disclosure, though SEC Republicans questioned whether the regulations were necessary. Mutual funds have had to report on their proxy votes since 2003. But SEC Chair Gary Gensler has said those disclosures often vary among funds and can be of limited use to their investors. Under the new rules, funds must report their votes in categories like environment or climate and diversity, equity and inclusion, providing a more accurate view of their positions on hot-button corporate ESG issues like greenhouse gas emissions reductions and civil rights audits.”
• The Economist reports on The tenacity of ESG investing: “A green-finance boom has not been followed by bust”.
• Bloomberg reports that Asset Managers Hit by More Bad News on Top-Ranked ESG Funds: Industry estimates say the designation known as Article 9 could be removed from hundreds of funds in the coming months. There are now signs that investment clients are beginning to pull back as new data points to a significant slowdown in inflows. And on Thursday, a report indicated that some Article 9 funds hold assets that could violate UN and OECD standards, from bribery to environmental damage. Many fund managers “are trying their best and have spent millions in legal fees to make sure they’re taking the right approach,” but “results won’t be consistent across the industry,” and that “creates systemic risk,” said Hugo Gallagher, senior policy adviser of the European Sustainable Investment Forum, whose members represent around USD 20 trillion in assets under management. It’s a development that reveals gaps in an ESG regulatory framework that was once hailed as the most ambitious in the world. Since the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation came into force in March 2021, the EU has had to make some clarifications. This includes telling the industry that all Article 9 funds must be fully sustainable, with some allowances for hedging and liquidity.
• Bloomberg Law reports SEC Pans Generic Workforce Disclosures Amid Push for New Rules: “The SEC is discouraging companies from giving only boilerplate information about their workforces in their public filings, as the agency works to beef up reporting rules, a senior official said Thursday.”

• Pensions & Investments reports BlackRock's Larry Fink outlines expansion of proxy-voting program in letter to investors: “BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager and a firm facing Republican-led divestment from several state funds, is expanding the eligibility for its 1-year-old proxy voting platform, Voting Choice. In a letter sent late Wednesday to BlackRock clients and corporate executives, CEO Larry Fink acknowledged complaints lobbed at the company's investment stewardship and told investors that BlackRock is continually working to help investors engage in proxy voting more directly.”
• ETF Stream reports Vanguard to pilot voting rights for retail investors in challenge to passive ‘emperors’ narrative: “Vanguard has launched a pilot scheme for US retail investors to decide how their votes are cast, just a year after BlackRock gave institutional clients the power to vote their shares, in a move which directly challenges the view that large asset managers hoard power through the trillions of dollars they manage through passives.”

• As stated in its announcement, The European Council gives final green light to corporate sustainability reporting directive: “The Council gave its final approval to the corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD). This means that companies will soon be required to publish detailed information on sustainability matters. This will increase a company’s accountability, prevent divergent sustainability standards, and ease the transition to a sustainable economy.”
• Euractiv reports EU Parliament passes directive on gender quotas for corporate boards: “The European Parliament gave its final approval on Tuesday (22 November) to a law that will implement quotas to boost gender balance on corporate boards across the bloc. The Women on Boards Directive, first proposed by the European Commission ten years ago, focuses on publicly traded companies. It implements quotas on the proportion of board seats filled by the “underrepresented sex” — 40% for only non-executive seats or 33%  for both non-executive and executive board positions.” See the European Parliament’s announcement here.
• The Financial Times reports that European countries begin taking down public company registers after ruling: “Anger among transparency campaigners as court finds access to data on corporate ownership interferes with right to privacy”.
• The Financial Times reports that European asset managers blame regulatory confusion for downgrade of ESG funds: “Amundi and Axa among those that point to uncertainty for the changes”.
• The Financial Times asks How does the EU respond to Joe Biden’s $369bn green subsidies bill? “Brussels seeks to mitigate threat posed by incoming inflation legislation that it says breaches WTO rules”.

• The Times reports that Investors return to in-person AGMs: “British companies have largely headed back to headquarters and hotels to convene their AGMs face to face, with nine in ten annual meetings held fully in-person during 2022, according to Computershare, the shareholder specialist that conducted the research. […] Mark Cleland, chief executive of Computershare in the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and South Africa, said that even when meetings were conducted in-person, some of the benefits of virtual AGMs had been adopted. ‘The pre-pandemic trend of allowing pre-submitted questions has continued and we’re also seeing shareholders submitting higher volumes of proxy instructions online, he said.”
• Davis Polk issued a client update saying that The Pre-Emption Group issues new Statement of Principles following Secondary Capital Raising Review: “On November 4, 2022, the Pre-Emption Group (PEG) issued a new version of its Statement of Principles implementing the recommendations of the Secondary Capital Raising Review (SCRR). The Statement of Principles provides that shareholders support resolutions sought by premium listed companies to disapply pre-emption rights of up to 20% on issues of equity securities, subject to certain conditions; follow-on offers are encouraged for retail investors to participate in non-pre-emptive share issues; and ‘capital hungry companies’ benefit from greater non-pre-emptive capital raising flexibility.” To read the FRC’s announcement, click here.
• The Financial Times reports that UK’s top fund managers tell FTSE companies to rein in CEO pay: “Boards should show ‘additional restraint’ as cost of living crisis hits staff, says Investment Association”. The IA issued a press release stating that Investors call on companies to consider cost-of-living crisis when setting executive pay.
• The Financial Times reports that FTSE chairs warn of declining relations with institutional investors: “Report highlights blurring of responsibilities that is creating unnecessary distractions for boards”. Access the full report from Tulchan here.
• The Financial Times reports that British boards need to get over themselves: “Shareholder engagement can be improved — but directors cannot regard investors as an inconvenience”
• UK Transition Plan Taskforce launches new ‘gold standard’ for best practice climate transition plans by private sector firms: “ The UK Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) was announced at COP26 by the UK Chancellor to develop the gold standard for private sector climate transition plans. Today, one year on, the TPT has published its Disclosure Framework and accompanying Implementation Guidance. It has also launched a Sandbox for companies and financial institutions to test implementation.”
• The Financial Times reports that the Lack of female executives in UK boardrooms ‘appalling’, survey finds: “EY-Cranfield report raises new concerns that not enough is being done to bring through women in management roles”. Read the full report here.
• The Financial Times reports that Bonus bonanza boosts FTSE 100 chiefs’ pay by nearly a quarter: “Pay awards for 2023 likely to face ‘unprecedented’ shareholder scrutiny, says PwC”.
• The Financial Times reports that UK governance reforms risk flight of capital from public markets, says regulator: “FRC chair Sir Jan du Plessis warns shake-up may boost ‘comfort of private equity’ for companies”.
• The Guardian reports that Pay of FTSE 100 chief executives rose an average of 23% in 2022: “Campaigners and TUC say rise to almost £4m is unjustifiable during cost of living crisis”.

• Le Monde reports that The remuneration of CAC 40 bosses jumped 52% in 2021, according to the Proxinvest study (“La rémunération des patrons du CAC 40 a bondi de 52 % en 2021, selon l’étude de Proxinvest”): “The average reaches 7.9 million euros, according to the shareholder advisory firm.” Read Proxinvest’s study here.
• L’Agefi argues that The filing of external resolutions at AGMs will have to evolve (“Le dépôt de résolutions externes en AG devra évoluer”): “Investors no longer accept issuers' vetoes and expect the rules to be simplified and clarified.” See here for the full article.
• The Financial Times reports that French market regulator resigns in protest at new chair: “AMF head has pledged to be ‘extremely careful’ over potential conflicts of interest”.
• The Financial Times reports that TotalEnergies challenged on carbon emissions reporting: “French energy group accused by Greenpeace of drastically understating its climate impact”.
• The Financial Times reports that US funds press France to increase €10bn EDF buyout price: “French regulator AMF urged to challenge government’s offer price”.

• Börsen-Zeitung reports that the BVI tightens the reins for virtual AGM (“BVI zieht für virtuelle HV die Zügel an”): “The BVI fund association wants to see shareholder rights fully guaranteed in the virtual general meeting. If not, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board could feel it in the discharge vote.” Read BVI’s announcement here.
• The Financial Times reports that BaFin threatens Deutsche Bank with fines as deadlines to fix controls approach: “Dispute between lender and German regulator over improving money-laundering measures escalates further”.
• The Financial Times reports that German regulator postpones verdict on flaws in EY’s Wirecard audits: “Final decision on potential misconduct will be crucial for Big Four firm’s future in Germany”.
• The Financial Times reports that Adler inflated balance sheet by €3.9bn and earnings by €543mn, BaFin finds: “Second time this year real estate group has had 2019 accounts questioned by German watchdog”.
• Reuters reports that Shareholder representatives demand more rights at online general meetings (“Aktionärsvertreter fordern mehr Rechte auf Online-Hauptversammlungen”): “The shareholders' association DSW is also calling for shareholders to have a say at virtual general meetings of German companies.

• Repubblica reports that “BPM now runs, Unicredit or Cariparma to grow further” [says Davide Leone] (“’BPM ora corre, Unicredit o Cariparma per crescere ancora’ [secondo Davide Leone]”): “Davide Leone, who with his fund is the bank's top shareholder, speaks: ‘If at the April renewal Tononi comes up again we will vote for board of directors list’”.
• Reuters reports that Atlantia set to be delisted as buyout bid reaches 90% threshold: “A buyout offer launched by the Benetton family and U.S. investment fund Blackstone (BX.N) for Italy's Atlantia (ATL.MI) has reached the 90% threshold for the deal to proceed and trigger the company's delisting, the bidders said on Thursday. The bid initially failed to reach the threshold but was then reopened for another five days and closes on Friday.”
• Robeco reports that Enel recognized as the first company fully aligned with Climate Action 100+ Net Zero Company Benchmark: “We, as institutional investors, (abrdn, National Trust and Robeco), leading the engagement with Enel Spa as part of the Climate Action 100+ initiative, are pleased to acknowledge that Enel Spa has become the first and only company to fully align their corporate disclosures with the Climate Action 100+ Net Zero Company Benchmark.”
• ANSA reports that Intesa Sanpaolo sells Nexi stake for [€] 584 million (“Intesa Sanpaolo cede quota Nexi per [€] 584 milioni”): “Intesa Sanpaolo has successfully concluded the sale of approximately 67 million ordinary shares of Nexi, corresponding to about 5.1 percent of the capital and the full stake previously held, at a price of 8.7 per ordinary share through an accelerated bookbuilding procedure.”

• La Vanguardia reports Indra ratifies the appointment of seven directors and settles the end of the crisis (“Indra ratifica el nombramiento de siete consejeros y zanja la crisis”): “The 28th October Indra held its extraordinary meeting which brought to an end the corporate governance crisis that began last summer. The company's shareholders, Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI) and SAPA, among others, supported the appointment of six independent directors and one more in representation of the main shareholder, balancing the board, with 50% independent directors. The meeting also approved that the company's highest controlling body, the board, will have 14 seats. The chairman's casting vote has been abolished, with the aim of encouraging the directors representing shareholders and independents to reach agreement on the most important issues.”
• elEconomista reports that Spain ranks as the fourth European country with more activism (“España se sitúa como el cuarto país europeo con más activismo inversor”): “Investors' scrutiny and demands on Spanish listed companies are increasing. This is revealed by Lazard's Review of Shareholder Activism data for the third quarter of 2022. Spain ranks as the fourth country in Europe with the most activist campaigns so far this year (up from ninth in 2021).”
• El Mundo reports that Santander aligns itself with an ethical investment approach: “The Santander Group is one of the entities that has joined this movement to align itself with ESG trends. This is reflected, for example, in the presentation for investors "Santander ESG: Towards a more sustainable world", with a clear message: to help companies and communities around the world to build back better, and to use this as an opportunity to tackle global challenges such as inequality and climate change.”
• elEconomista reports that Iberdrola signs the largest green issue in Europe in the first half of the year (”Iberdrola firma la mayor emisión verde en Europa en el semester”): “A week of intense activity in the market for climate-labelled issues. Just a few days after presenting its strategic plan, Iberdrola placed a total of €1.5 billion in green bonds. It did so with great success: its initial target was to issue €1 billion, as reported by Bloomberg.”
• CincoDías reports Banks take a stand against greenwashing and embrace behavioural economics (“La banca se conjura contra el 'greenwashing' y se abraza a la economía conductual”): “The boom in corporate sustainability marked by corporate compliance with environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria raises doubts as to whether or not such a strategy is profitable for companies. In fact, experts themselves warn that sustainability does not always have to be synonymous with profitability. ‘We have to put an end to the idea that there is a miraculous connection between sustainability and assured profitability’, said Clarity AI's director, Ángel Agudo, during the 8th Pension Conference organised by Cinco Días and Ibercaja.”
• Expansion reports The importance of ESG criteria is being consolidated in the real estate sector (“La importancia de los criterios ESG se consolida en el sector inmobiliario”): “Despite the uncertainty of the economic context, companies in the sector maintain their ambition in terms of sustainability, with decarbonisation as one of the central axes.”
• elEconomista reports More transparency in ESG: this is what the new directive says ("Más transparencia en ASG: así lo indica la nueva directiva CSRD”): “With an overwhelming majority of 525 votes in favour, and only 60 against, Members of the European Parliament agreed to make companies more accountable to their stakeholders on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. To do so, they will require reliable, comparable and externally verified data, thus filling some of the gaps in the current Non-Financial Reporting Statements stemming from Directive 2014/95/EU.”

• Reuters reports that Credit Suisse overhaul draws scrutiny from some investors, proxy adviser over governance: “Credit Suisse's (CSGN.S) recent decision to exit certain investment banking activities is drawing scrutiny from at least two investors and a proxy adviser who told Reuters they are worried about how the Swiss bank managed potential conflicts of interest of two directors. The move to break up the lender and spin off the investment banking business was seen by analysts as a way for Credit Suisse to focus on its more profitable wealth management franchise. But the investors are questioning how some of the decisions were taken.”
• Ethos announced that Members of Ethos Engagement Pools validate the topics for 2023: “The annual meetings of Ethos' shareholder dialogue programmes – the Ethos Engagement Pool (EEP) Switzerland and the EEP International – were held on Thursday in Bern. Engagement strategies are a credible way to address the sustainability issues of companies held in portfolios. As such, they are being adopted by a growing number of pension funds. EEP Switzerland welcomed 14 new members in 2022 and now has 167 members with over CHF 359 billion in assets under management. EEP International has added 17 new members since the beginning of the year and now has 100 members (CHF 285 billion in assets).”
• The Swiss Confederation announced that the Federal Council brings ordinance on mandatory climate disclosures for large companies into force as of 1 January 2024: “Large companies' transparency on the climate impact of their activities is a key aspect for the markets to function well and for climate sustainability in the financial sector. To date, Switzerland has lacked clear and comparable climate-related disclosures. The Federal Council intends to make that possible with the new ordinance, which provides for the binding implementation of the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) by large Swiss companies.”

• The Financial Times reports that the Bank of Ireland appoints Myles O’Grady as chief: “Incoming executive to be paid nearly €1mn, almost twice the level of controversial Irish bank pay cap”.

• The Telegraph reports that Sacked Twitter executives at risk of being denied $90m payout by Elon Musk: “Billionaire reportedly dismissed top staff including chief executive 'for cause', suggesting they will not be entitled to golden goodbyes.”
• The Financial Times reports that FTX collapse puts its auditors in the spotlight: “Armanino and Prager Metis face scrutiny over Bankman-Fried’s bankrupt crypto empire”.
• The Financial Times argues that Disney should not be so reliant on one man: “The company is not moving with the times when it comes to corporate governance best practice”.
• SEC Adopts Rules to Enhance Proxy Voting Disclosure by Registered Investment Funds and Require Disclosure of “Say-on-Pay” Votes for Institutional Investment Managers: “Washington D.C., Nov. 2, 2022 —The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted amendments to Form N-PX to enhance the information mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and certain other registered funds report about their proxy votes. The amendments will make these funds’ proxy voting records more usable and easier to analyze, improving investors’ ability to monitor how their funds vote and compare different funds’ voting records. The rulemaking will also newly require institutional investment managers to disclose how they voted on executive compensation, or so-called “say-on-pay” matters, which fulfills one of the remaining rulemaking mandates under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.”
• Corporate Secretary reports More US companies holding in-person AGMs: “Almost two thirds (63 percent) of US companies’ AGMs were held in person in the six months to June 30 – an increase from 55.9 percent last year, according to new research. The report from Computershare also notes that no US companies used a hybrid format for their AGM this past proxy season, unlike their peers in other global regions.”
• HR Dive reports Slowly but surely, S&P boards are diversifying: “S&P 500 boards are slowly becoming more diverse, according to an annual study by executive search and advisory firm Spencer Stuart. Of the 395 new independent board directors appointed in 2022, 74% came from outside executive ranks. Of these, 72% came from historically underrepresented groups, including women, underrepresented racial and ethnic groups and members of LGBTQ+ communities. Nearly one-fifth (18%) are age 50 or younger. However, due to persistently low boardroom turnover, the transformation of overall board composition is happening slowly. Consistent with prior years, new directors account for only 7% of all S&P 500 directors, the study found.”
• The Financial Times reports that Corporations can no longer remain black boxes: “New regulation on pay transparency in the US should force openness in other areas too”.
• The Financial Times reports that Meta shareholders vent anger at Zuckerberg’s spending binge: “CEO seems intent on using majority control to push ahead with big bet on metaverse despite Wall St scepticism”.
• The Wall Street Journal reports that Elon Musk’s Influence Over Tesla’s Board in Focus as Tesla Compensation Trial Kicks Off: “Musk, along with other current and former Tesla directors, is expected to testify over his multibillion-dollar pay package”.
• The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. Audit Watchdog Looks to Strengthen Rules on Quality Controls: “Audit firms would have to report once a year to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and their clients’ audit committees on how effective their systems are”
• The Wall Street Journal reports that Audit Regulator Steps Up Enforcement Under New Leader: “PCAOB is significantly increasing penalties but faces constraints”.
• The Wall Street Journal reports Companies Look for Ways to Bring New Directors Up to Speed Quickly: “Companies are looking for new ways to get their directors up to speed—fast. In a rapidly changing political and business environment, board members have much more on their plates these days. They must figure out the impact of a host of novel challenges, everything from the Russia-Ukraine war to economic uncertainty to a heightened focus on environmental, social and governance issues. They often need and want specialized training to integrate into board dynamics and stay up to speed on the issues.”
• Thomson Reuters reports Companies Already Have Implementation Questions on SEC’s New Pay vs. Performance Rule: “The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance (CorpFin) staff has already been getting implementation inquiries about the commission’s so-called pay versus performance rule, which was adopted less than three months ago.”
• The Financial Times reports on Collateralised fund obligations: how private equity securitised itself: “Stakes in hundreds of buyout groups’ companies have been bundled into investments with strong credit ratings.”

• The Economic Times reports that the Top 500 NSE-listed companies have 18% women directors, says study: “ Gender diversity in boardrooms is picking up, though at a slower pace, with women accounting for nearly 18 per cent of the directorships in the top 500 NSE-listed companies at the end of March this year, according to a study.”
• IiAS reported on Corporate India: Women on boards: “Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) has published the third edition of its study on “Corporate India: Women on boards.” APG has partnered IiAS in this study. Gender equality is one of the seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs) set by United Nations. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has also mandated gender diversity disclosures under its Business Responsibility Reporting requirements. Appointment of at least one independent woman director is mandatory for India’s top 1000-listed companies by market capitalisation. Research studies often link higher diversity on boards with improved financial reporting. Women representation brings in a different perspective, intuitiveness, and a more collaborative style of leadership into corporate boardrooms. These factors, combined make gender diversity an important benchmark for IiAS while assessing India Inc for overall corporate governance.”
• The Guardian reports on the Adani port protests: more than 80 wounded in latest clash to halt project in India’s Kerala: “Police and protesters injured as fishing community fights $900m Vizhinjam port project, saying it erodes the coastline and costs them their livelihoods.”

• The Financial Times reports that MSCI investors at risk of exposure to Xinjiang allegations, report says "China has come under renewed international pressure over its treatment of Uyghur Muslims."
• Reuters reports that Auditor exodus at embattled China property firms triggers governance concerns: Auditors of at least 14 Hong Kong-listed Chinese property firms have exited this year, securities filings showed, raising governance concerns about the debt-ridden developers several of whom are yet to publish long-pending financial results. Embattled developers including Sunac China (1918.HK), Shimao Group (0813.HK) and Kaisa Group (1638.HK) are among those whose auditors have parted ways in recent months. In many cases, firms outside the Big-Four accounting firms have been roped in as replacements. The trend, which accelerated earlier this year, has seen auditors, including the world's top auditing firms PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Deloitte, resigning from their roles.
• Fund Selector Asia reports that APAC investors look to China long term for ESG:  Asia Pacific investors are looking at China, rather than the US or Europe, as their most favoured destination for ESG investments over the long term, according to a survey from JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM). JPMAM conducted 2,400 online interviews with professional advisers, including 1,400 in Asia Pacific. The interviewees comprised local and global retail banks, insurance companies, private banks, retail securities firms and financial advice firms. When asked which regions offered the best investment opportunities over the next 12 months, 40% said the US, 36% said Europe and only 22% said China. However, when asked which regions offered the best investment opportunities over the next five years, China leapfrogged the other regions at 40% followed by 31% for the US and 27% for Europe. JPMAM noted that this was in part because China is on course eventually to become the largest economy in the world and the expectation is that stock market returns will be a lot higher there over the next 10 to 15 years compared with other markets.

• SCMP reports that China and Hong Kong firms see greatest growth in whistle-blower reports in Asia-Pacific, but fail to act adequately, Baker McKenzie survey shows: Mainland China and Hong Kong firms have seen the greatest growth in whistle-blower reports but have failed to respond adequately, a survey of five major Asia-Pacific markets by law firm Baker McKenzie has found. Employers without the mindset and tools to navigate whistle-blowing complaints will become more vulnerable to risks such as regulatory sanctions, reputational damage and employee disengagement or claims, according to the law firm’s recent “Asia-Pacific Whistleblowing Landscape” report. “[Companies] have to encourage a ‘speak-up’ culture. Part of that means that if somebody does raise complaints, you need to actually investigate,” Mini vandePol, Baker McKenzie’s head of investigations, compliance and ethics group in the Asia-Pacific region, said in an interview. Some 74 per cent of mainland firms, and 61 per cent from Hong Kong, saw an increase in whistle-blowing complaints over the past year, compared with an average of 41 per cent in the region, according to the survey of 523 senior executives polled across five major markets, the others being Singapore, Japan and Australia.
• SCMP reports that HKEX launches voluntary carbon-trading platform to position city in climate-change fight: Core Climate, which launched on Friday, is an international marketplace for the trading of carbon credits to support the world’s net-zero transition, HKEX said. The platform allows participants to source, hold, trade, settle and retire credits sourced from certified carbon projects around the world.
• Reuters reports that HSBC top shareholder Ping An urges aggressive cost cuts, renews spin-off push: HSBC Holdings' largest shareholder Ping An on Friday urged the lender to aggressively reduce costs by cutting jobs and divesting peripheral non-Asian businesses, the first such public call by the Chinese financial conglomerate. The London-headquartered bank, which makes the bulk of its sales and profit in Asia, has been under pressure from Ping An Asset Management (Ping An AM), to explore options including listing its Asian business to boost returns.

• The Korea Herald repots that Korean state pension fund’s growth hindered by gov’t intervention: South Korea’s state pension fund, the country’s main retirement plan, is in need of a major reform centered on cutting off excessive government intervention, an insider said Monday. Jeong Woo-yong, a member of the National Pension Service’s Fiduciary Liability Committee, pointed out that the fund’s key decision-making bodies consist of “too many” government officials and lack economic experts. This hinders the fund’s growth, as it increases the fund’s vulnerability to being abused in different government projects with a lack of experts -- leading to lackluster profitability, he explained.

• Asia Insurance Review reports that Singapore: MAS launches ESG Impact Hub: “The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched the ESG Impact Hub to spur co-location and collaboration between ESG fintech start-ups and solution providers, financial institutions and real-economy stakeholders. The hub will also anchor industry-driven sustainability initiatives such the Point Carbon Zero Programme and KPMG’s ESG Business Foundry. The establishment of the hub seeks to capitalise on the strong industry interest in Project Greenprint and expedite the growth of Singapore’s ESG ecosystem on three fronts.”

• The Financial Review reports that Stokes’ Seven pays the price for proxy advice: “Seven West Media embarrassingly reissued its remuneration report. But why?”
• The Financial Times reports that Tech billionaire wins board shake-up at Australia’s biggest polluter: “Shareholders elect Mike Cannon-Brookes nominees at energy company AGL”.
• The Sydney Morning Herald reported (prior to COP27): COP27 must 'bring climate back to top' of agenda amid energy crisis, say investors: ‘Short-term issues cannot distract us from the long-term goal…but…they have an impact on how governments are approaching the energy debate’.
• The Age says Woodside 'ignoring investors' by not putting climate plan to a vote: “Woodside’s owners will not get to vote on its revised climate plan in 2023, after 49% rejected it this year, as the gas giant says it does not have enough time to fully incorporate assets it agreed to buy from BHP a year ago.”
• The Australian reports: JB Hi-Fi will focus more on energy efficient consumer electronics in wake of energy bill shock.  
• The Sydney Morning Herald reports that BP forges ahead with WA green hydrogen despite ‘high complexity: “BP will aggressively chase Pilbara miners to buy its green hydrogen ahead of exporting it, as it gets the ball rolling on the $US36 billion ($56 billion) green hydrogen project in Western Australia.”
• The Australian says: ASIC doubles down on climate disclosure, warns of ‘perfect storm’ of global threats: “The chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Joe Longo, has warned companies to take their climate change disclosures seriously.”
• Accenture reports that 93% of G2000 companies with net zero commitments will miss their net zero targets based on current trends: “More companies than ever before have publicly committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but this ambition isn’t yet matched by the necessary action.”
• The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Gas giant’s $3.2b effort to bury carbon pollution is failing: “The world’s biggest carbon pollution reduction project at Chevron’s Gorgon gas plant is working at just one-third capacity after six years, delivering a setback to the credibility of carbon capture and storage as a means to achieve net-zero emissions.”
• The Guardian reports on ‘Socially aware’ superannuation funds among those investing billions in gambling industry: “Australia’s biggest super funds have poured more than $4.2bn of workers’ retirement savings into gambling – pokies manufacturers, casino operators and lottery companies – even through investment options that claim to be ‘socially aware’.”
• The Sydney Morning Herald reports ‘The heating climate is coming to you’: Andrew Forrest calls on ‘lazy’ execs to join climate crusade: “I’d say either you have a vested interest. I’d like to meet that vested interest – is it truly worth more to you than your children? Or perhaps you’re simply lazy, enjoying the trappings of office but not doing much at all.”
• The Guardian Australia reports that After Mike Cannon-Brookes’ shake-up, AGL now faces the challenge of pivoting away from power stations: “His campaign, via shareholder activism, has resulted in a mass clean-out of the board of directors of Australia’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, AGL Energy.”
• The Sydney Morning Herald reports on ‘Wartime effort’: Origin CEO fears consumer backlash to energy transition: “Origin Energy boss Frank Calabria says the energy transition facing Australia is a staggering task that must be achieved with utmost urgency, or the challenges will only get harder and the costs greater to bear.”
• ABC reports that ANZ set to pull out of pariah state Myanmar after facing ‘increasing operational complexity’: “ANZ has announced it will pull out of Myanmar, dealing a blow to the country's military junta and potentially ramping up pressure on other overseas banks to turn their backs on the regime.”