Re-elected Great Eastern director draws scrutiny

Investor concerns: People walk opposite the Marina Bay skyline in Singapore. GE minority shareholders feel short-changed by controlling shareholders during takeover attempts, and that their interests are not protected by the board. — AFP

SINGAPORE: Tensions surface at Great Eastern’s (GE) AGM on April 14 when minority shareholders question the re-election of OCBC Bank chief executive officer (CEO) 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 sources as saying that Wong had personally met several GE shareholders to convince them to sell their shares to OCBC.