Noble Group

[kbl]

Good afternoon everyone.

Why Noble Group is worrying: GMT research

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/why-...vp-AAaFKta

<not vested><not a call to buy or sell>

[corydorus]

Sounds scary what company can do from the video ... so many ways to hide. The only way to invest safely is that Management must have utmost Integrity.
I agree, once you screw up on it, no twice.

[greentea]

MAS reviewing Muddy Waters report: http://btd.sg/1HYFN22

[greentea]

Proxy advisory firm ISS criticises Noble's audit committee composition: http://btd.sg/1PCipwA

[greentea]

More detail - ISS says criticisms do not warrant vote against Noble's resolutions: http://btd.sg/1Eue1va

Proxy advisory firm ISS criticises Noble's audit committee composition: http://btd.sg/1PCipwA

[cfa]

Sound bites from Elman

18 April 2015

Business Times Singapore




...On Yancoal

Mr Lau: Can I ask you a question on Yancoal?

Mr Elman: Does it have to do with the financial statement? If it does, I&rsquo ll answer it. If it doesn&rsquo t, we won&rsquo t. We have to stick by the rules and regulations that the meeting is being run by.

Mr Sabnani: I think it is in order to ask about Yancoal, why are you not answering?

Mr Elman: I said it &ndash

Mr Sabnani: It has nothing to do with the short-sellers . . . I think you&rsquo re unnecessarily defensive and in denial mode . . . If you are not guilty of anything, why are you so uptight?

Mr Elman: I would like to repeat, we are talking about the order of the financial statement and the reports of our directors and auditors. If it&rsquo s relative to that, we will absolutely answer the question.

Mr Sabnani: Chairman, you have not even let him ask the question. I&rsquo m just getting this feeling that you walked in here just to get it over with.

Mr Elman: I remember you from the last meeting. The first criticism you had was the font on the screen were too small and you couldn&rsquo t see them. Do you remember that?

Mr Sabnani: Yes!

Mr Elman: Are they big enough now?

Mr Sabnani: Your annual report is very badly done . . . look at the typeface, look at the point-font &ndash

Mr Elman: Thank you, moving on.

Mr Sabnani: See, you are not willing to listen to feedback.

Mr Elman: Let&rsquo s have the Yancoal question.

On independent directors

Mr Sabnani: Can I ask the directors to tell us how do they hope to contribute to the company going forward?

Mr Elman: Ms (Irene) Lee is a lawyer and an accountant. Mr (Robert) Chan has been a banker at UOB for his whole life, so their skill sets are very, very qualified and they are very useful to the board.

Mr Sabnani: I&rsquo m sure they are, but I would just like to hear what they would be looking at, how they will offer special value &ndash

Mr Elman: I don&rsquo t think this is an appropriate forum.

Mr Sabnani: I don&rsquo t see why not, chairman, especially if you&rsquo re voting somebody, and you&rsquo re telling us, &ldquo please just read the CV and vote them in&rdquo ? (It) doesn&rsquo t make sense. What&rsquo s the hurry anyway? You booked the ballroom, right? Are they going to charge you per minute or what?

[greengiraffe]

The entire forest is so big... why miss the entire forest just because of a rotting tree...

It speaks so much about management integrity...

Vested
Odd Lots Vested
GG

Sound bites from Elman

18 April 2015

Business Times Singapore




...On Yancoal

Mr Lau: Can I ask you a question on Yancoal?

Mr Elman: Does it have to do with the financial statement? If it does, I&rsquo ll answer it. If it doesn&rsquo t, we won&rsquo t. We have to stick by the rules and regulations that the meeting is being run by.

Mr Sabnani: I think it is in order to ask about Yancoal, why are you not answering?

Mr Elman: I said it &ndash

Mr Sabnani: It has nothing to do with the short-sellers . . . I think you&rsquo re unnecessarily defensive and in denial mode . . . If you are not guilty of anything, why are you so uptight?

Mr Elman: I would like to repeat, we are talking about the order of the financial statement and the reports of our directors and auditors. If it&rsquo s relative to that, we will absolutely answer the question.

Mr Sabnani: Chairman, you have not even let him ask the question. I&rsquo m just getting this feeling that you walked in here just to get it over with.

Mr Elman: I remember you from the last meeting. The first criticism you had was the font on the screen were too small and you couldn&rsquo t see them. Do you remember that?

Mr Sabnani: Yes!

Mr Elman: Are they big enough now?

Mr Sabnani: Your annual report is very badly done . . . look at the typeface, look at the point-font &ndash

Mr Elman: Thank you, moving on.

Mr Sabnani: See, you are not willing to listen to feedback.

Mr Elman: Let&rsquo s have the Yancoal question.

On independent directors

Mr Sabnani: Can I ask the directors to tell us how do they hope to contribute to the company going forward?

Mr Elman: Ms (Irene) Lee is a lawyer and an accountant. Mr (Robert) Chan has been a banker at UOB for his whole life, so their skill sets are very, very qualified and they are very useful to the board.

Mr Sabnani: I&rsquo m sure they are, but I would just like to hear what they would be looking at, how they will offer special value &ndash

Mr Elman: I don&rsquo t think this is an appropriate forum.

Mr Sabnani: I don&rsquo t see why not, chairman, especially if you&rsquo re voting somebody, and you&rsquo re telling us, &ldquo please just read the CV and vote them in&rdquo ? (It) doesn&rsquo t make sense. What&rsquo s the hurry anyway? You booked the ballroom, right? Are they going to charge you per minute or what?

[greentea]

And Iceberg comments on the above... http://btd.sg/1HnlYD1

[CityFarmer]

More update after the recent AGM. There is little SIAS can do about it...

(not vested)

SIAS to discuss Noble shareholders' grouses with company

SINGAPORE (April 21): The Securities Investors Association (Singapore) ( Financial Dashboard), a champion of retail investors' rights, says it will get in touch with Noble Group ( Financial Dashboard) to address shareholders' unhappiness with the supply chain manager's chairman during its AGM last week.

Richard Elman, who is also Noble's founder and major shareholder, refused to answer questions relating to Iceberg Research's allegations and cut off several shareholders when they tried to find out more about those claims during the April 17 meeting.

"Chairmen of meetings must understand that whilst it is true that the Annual General Meeting is a statutory meeting and limited by time within a set agenda, they can still address the serious concerns of minority shareholders and not side-step them," David Gerald, SIAS President and CEO, said in a statement.

"Shutting up the shareholders instead, only creates acrimony. It is not good to stick to the letter of the law at meetings but it is good to take questions from the shareholders in the spirit of the law."

If it did not have enough time at the AGM, Noble could have arranged for a closed-door dialogue or met shareholders immediately after the meeting for an informal chat, Gerald said.

"Chairman and directors of meetings need to adopt a friendly and willing attitude towards their shareholders who are, after all, owners of the company," he added.

Despite the run-ins between Elman and some shareholders at the meeting, all 12 resolutions tabled at the AGM were passed.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/article...es-company

[greengiraffe]

SIAS need to do what they are supposed to do. Frankly over the years SIAS has not done much apart from being a toothless tiger...

More update after the recent AGM. There is little SIAS can do about it...

(not vested)

SIAS to discuss Noble shareholders' grouses with company

SINGAPORE (April 21): The Securities Investors Association (Singapore) ( Financial Dashboard), a champion of retail investors' rights, says it will get in touch with Noble Group ( Financial Dashboard) to address shareholders' unhappiness with the supply chain manager's chairman during its AGM last week.

Richard Elman, who is also Noble's founder and major shareholder, refused to answer questions relating to Iceberg Research's allegations and cut off several shareholders when they tried to find out more about those claims during the April 17 meeting.

"Chairmen of meetings must understand that whilst it is true that the Annual General Meeting is a statutory meeting and limited by time within a set agenda, they can still address the serious concerns of minority shareholders and not side-step them," David Gerald, SIAS President and CEO, said in a statement.

"Shutting up the shareholders instead, only creates acrimony. It is not good to stick to the letter of the law at meetings but it is good to take questions from the shareholders in the spirit of the law."

If it did not have enough time at the AGM, Noble could have arranged for a closed-door dialogue or met shareholders immediately after the meeting for an informal chat, Gerald said.

"Chairman and directors of meetings need to adopt a friendly and willing attitude towards their shareholders who are, after all, owners of the company," he added.

Despite the run-ins between Elman and some shareholders at the meeting, all 12 resolutions tabled at the AGM were passed.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/article...es-company