GUARDS armed with revolvers are a common sight at banks, but at a shareholders' meeting? At a recent extraordinary general meeting (EGM), the manager of MacarthurCook Industrial Reit (MI-Reit) took the unusual step of hiring five armed security guards from Certis Cisco.

A Reit is an industrial real estate investment trust.

The meeting, which was held at the Marina Mandarin Hotel on 23 Nov, was attended by about 250 shareholders, The Straits Times reported.

But why armed guards when there hasn't been a reported case of violence at such meetings?

Mr Nicholas McGrath, chief executive of the manager of MI-Reit, MacarthurCook Investment Managers (Asia) Limited, told The New Paper: "The board of directors felt that it was important for security guards to be present to ensure events were run in an orderly manner."

The board is composed of a mixture of Singaporeans and foreigners.

He said armed security guards from Certis Cisco were hired as MI-Reit's manager did not have its own in-house security guards.

A Certis Cisco Security spokesman said: "Only Auxiliary Police Officers (APOs) are armed when they are on duty. We have deployed our APOs at companies' AGMs (annual general meetings) or EGMs, although such requests are few.

"Singapore Police Force's Security Industry Regulatory Department regulates the types of events for the deployment of APOs."

She added that each on-duty APO is armed with a revolver and a T-baton.

Duties

When contacted, a police spokesman said APOs are usually deployed to assist with security and crowd control duties for events such as the National Day Parade and F1.

She added: "They can also assist with crowd or traffic management at sports events like marathons, triathlons, and particularly those requiring lane or road closures."

On whether AGMs or EGMs are events where armed guards can be deployed, the spokesman said: "This would be assessed on a case-by-case basis, depending on considerations such as location and crowd size."

Mr David Gerald, president and chief executive of the Securities Investors Association (Singapore), said he wasn't at the meeting and wasn't aware of the presence of the armed security guards.

He added: "It's quite unusual; one needs to know what was the fear. I would advise the company not to overreact."

He said it was rare for external security officers to be present at companies' AGMs and in-house security guards are sometimes present only for crowd control.

There were raised voices at the EGM.

Said Mr Ang Kong Meng, an accountant in his 50s, who was present, said: "The minority shareholders were very angry. They wanted a recount as the margin between the votes was very small and there could have been human error, but it was rejected."

He said that at one point, there was a lot of shouting among unit holders who were unhappy with the way the meeting was conducted.

"I saw security guards rush in from outside when they heard the noise," he said.

"I think the security guards overreacted. Mostly, it's just grumbling among unit holders and some cursed. It was not very heated."

He felt that it was unnecessary to have armed security guards present at the EGM. Another investor who was present at the event heard about the presence of the armed security guards, but said he did not see them.

Said Mr Martin Lee: "It was more heated than a normal meeting, but it didn't get out of control. It was still quite civil."

As for hiring armed security guards for the event, he said: "I suppose they were taking precautions in view of the huge turnout."

While meetings do sometimes become heated, Mr Gerald said shareholders are mostly well-behaved. He said: "I haven't seen any altercation or physical violence. Singaporeans are not used to violence."

A check with four listed companies on their security measures during AGMs revealed that they either had no security guards present during such meetings or deployed only unarmed in-house security guards.

Said Ms Koh Ching Ching, a spokesman for OCBC Bank: "We usually deploy the security guards from our premises to assist at the external venue where the AGM is held. "This is for crowd control and to ensure the safety of shareholders attending the AGM."

About the EGM

THE MacarthurCook Industrial Reit (MI-Reit) extraordinary general meeting (EGM) was held to debate a contentious $430 million rescue plan, reported TheStraits Times.

The manager of Cambridge Industrial Reit, Cambridge Industrial Trust Management Limited, a key stakeholder in MI-Reit, opposed the rescue plan and had wanted to take over as manager.

But this was rejected by the Monetary Authority of Singapore due to a potential conflict of interest.

In the lead-up to the EGM on 23 Nov, the two real estate investment trusts took out separate full-page advertisements in newspapers setting out their respective positions.

At the EGM, unit holders had to vote for a total of five resolutions, two of which attracted only about 52 per cent of the votes.

The MI-Reit manager, MacarthurCook Investment Managers (Asia) Limited, eventually won over enough unit holders for the rescue plan to be approved.

This article was first published in The New Paper.

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