Uday Kotak flags concerns over voting power of global proxy advisory firms post Deepak Parekh re-appointment incident

Mumbai: Noted banker Uday Kotak today flagged concerns about concentration of voting powers with global proxy advisory firms, a week after nearly 23 percent investors voted against re-appointment of Deepak Parekh as a director on HDFC board.Two US proxy advisory firms had asked investors to vote against the special resolution to re-appoint Parekh, according to reports.

Against this backdrop, Kotak mentioned about global proxy advisory firms and their concentration of voting with such entities."We have seen the concentration of voting through global proxy advisory services, leading to concentration of voting power in the hands of a few global agencies," Kotak said."This questions the very basis of well-run, widely held companies and diversified ownerships," he said.Kotak, who is the managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, was speaking on the sidelines of the listing ceremony of HDFC Asset Management Company here.He was also the head of the high-level on corporate governance constituted by markets regulator Sebi. Many recommendations of the committee have been accepted by the watchdog.Last week, nearly 23 percent of investors voted against the special resolution for re-appointing Parekh as a director on the board of mortgage lender HDFC.