Companies and ventures in which PREVI participates
Corporate governance
Generally speaking, the companies in which PREVI holds an interest show a satisfactory evolution with regard to corporate government practices. Out of the total companies which answered the questionnaire, 28 (93%) warrant the adequate rights to minority stockholders, as stated in their bylaws or shareholders' agreement. Among those rights are the voting rights in general meetings, mechanisms of protection such as the "tag along" (which guarantees the same rights enjoyed by the majority shareholders to all other shareholders in case of sale or change of ownership of the company), and the right to appoint one representative to the board.
At present, 25 of those companies have a clearly defined dividend policy, making official their payment to the shareholders. Other companies, although not having yet set up formal mechanisms to that end, indicate to be following the same practices.
Concerning the item "transparency", it is common practice to all companies in which PREVI participates to make easily available to all shareholders the results as well as the contents of all meetings which might be of interest to them and to the market.
The most usual way to divulge the above information is through the company's site. Most of them have an "on-line" channel used to maintain a regular contact with their shareholders. Results and events are also occasionally ventilated through the sites of related organs, such as Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (Securities and Exchange Commission), or reported in specific meetings set up to announce results and important facts.
As to the detailed disclosure of the remuneration received by companies' senior executives, pinpointing the amounts assigned to the members of the Administrative Board and of the Executive Directorate, that is a practice not often followed by the companies in question. At present, only 17 (57% of the total) do so, usually in their yearly corporate reports.
It is not yet a common practice among the companies in which PREVI holds a participation, the presence of a member formally appointed by the employees in the Administrative Board. For the time being, only seven companies (23% of the total) confirm having a member representing the employees in their boards.
More than one half of the companies surveyed (52%) is classified under some level in Bovespa's corporate governance list. Some companies who are not yet part of that list, have declared their intention to join it and, in some instances, are already taking the necessary steps to apply.
It is worthwhile noticing as well, the participation of a number of companies in indices related to good corporate governance practices, like the IGC - Índice de Ações com Governança Corporativa Diferenciada da Bovespa (Bovespa's Index of Stocks with Differentiated Corporate Governance) - confirmed by 13 % of the companies in which PREVI has invested; and the ITAG - Ìndice de Ações com Tag Along (Index of Shares with Tag Along Provision), reported by 10 % of the companies. That latter provision provides to a sounder guarantee against occasional changes in the ownership of companies to minority shareholders.
Investments in real estate
Likewise the companies above, real estate ventures with PREVI's participation show a positive evolution with regard to governance practices. All such ventures confirm having set up a detailed planning of the improvements to be implemented in order to keep up their real estate assets, as well as to carry out periodical audits of the management procedures, of the condition of their real estate, of the financial results, and of the accounting statements.
It is also assured an equal treatment to all joint-owners, independently of the extent of each one's participation, particularly with regard to the availability of information and attention to their requests with the consequent routing of same.
Among the undertakings who answered the questionnaire, 74 % assert to avail themselves of communication channels via Internet to inform about their performance. Those electronic reports, in addition to rendering accounts and informing about the financial results, also contemplate socio-environmental aspects (available at present in 79 % of those undertakings), and the evolution of the indices with regard to goals and sustainability performance (the latter disclosed nowadays by 58 % of those ventures).
The above information is particularly directed to investors and joint-owners, since only 37 % of the ventures who periodically publish some sort of performance report acknowledge sending it to tenants and other publics.