Minority shareholders at GE question re-election of OCBC chief to board

They raise concerns at AGM amid bank's ongoing efforts to take the insurer private

- Kang Wan Chern

Tensions surfaced at Great Eastern's (GE) annual general meeting (AGM) on April 14 when minority shareholders questioned the re-election of OCBC Bank chief executive Helen Wong to the insurer's board, amid the bank's ongoing efforts to take GE private.

At the AGM, minority shareholders referred to a Jan 24 Bloomberg report that cited people with knowledge of the matter as saying that Ms Wong had personally met several GE shareholders to convince them to sell their shares to OCBC. The report was also published in The Straits Times.

She reportedly met long-time GE shareholders Wong Hong Sun and his brother Hong Yen, as well as representatives of Mr Lee Thor Seng and his family, to persuade them to support the bank's attempt to buy up all the shares in GE that it does not own.

The Lee family and Wong siblings collectively hold a 3 per cent stake in the insurer.

Minority shareholders pressed the board to confirm whether Ms Wong had disclosed these meetings and if the board had verified the accuracy of the Bloomberg report.

GE chairman Soon Tit Koon responded that Ms Wong had not informed the board about the meetings, which she had conducted in her capacity as OCBC CEO.

The board also did not verify the report with Ms Wong.

"The board does not feel it is our responsibility to verify media reports," Mr Soon said.

He also said the board does not interfere with Ms Wong's work as CEO of OCBC, but emphasised that should any material issues affecting GE have surfaced, Ms Wong would be expected to bring those issues to the board.

"It is not for the GE board to ask a director, who happens to be a CEO of a bank, concerning meetings that she might have conducted," he said.

"From the board's perspective, Ms Wong is well aware of her responsibilities as a director. If there were matters that were material to GE, we would expect her to bring them to the board."