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ABU DHABI / WAM
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) has requested all listed companies to disclose the agendas and outcome of their board meetings which discuss the possibility of awarding shares to their employees in form of equity incentives. The request comes in implementation of the Securities and Commodities Authority’s resolution under which the system of issuing public stock companies’ shares has been amended.
Under the amendment, which has already been endorsed by the SCA, the capital of an issuing company should be paid up in full, with net stockholder rights to be not less than the issued capital, with the market value of the original shares to be not less than their nominal value; in addition, the equity incentives should not exceed more than 2.5 percent of the paid-up capital and an SCA approval should be secured before raising the draft programme to a general assembly meeting. Further, a company’s board has to raise the incentive programme to a general assembly for approval.
In a memo circulated to all lis-ted companies, ADX stressed the necessity of getting an SCA approval of incentive programme ahead of a general assembly meeting, including stockholders’ sanctioning thereof.