Continuing a best-practice standard set last year to rise above the Annual General Meeting (AGM) rush, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC announced last week that it would be holding its AGM in March 2016.

Hatton National Bank PLC too had followed such a practice last year.

Most companies announce their AGM dates at the last moment, barring individuals or entities that have shares in multiple companies attending all the meetings they have an interest to be part of. 

In some instances in the past, subsidiaries of the same group held AGMs concurrently at different locations. This year, 45 AGMs were held on June 29 and 30 and only 16 of those were notified before June 5. Further, 25 AGMs were held in the third week of June, only 15 of which were announced before the end of May.

Companies withhold their AGMs and releases of annual reports and financial statements until just before the common deadlines set by the regulator expire. The Securities and Exchange Commission has not brought in any guidelines to solve the AGM rush despite being made aware of the fact a number of times. (CW)