2023-10-30 17:02:05
“The predictability of dividend payments contributes to increasing the attractiveness of investments and strengthening confidence in the company. To do this, it is planned to determine the requirements for the content of the dividend policy of a public company, establish the obligation to approve and disclose it, as well as to explain to shareholders the reasons for rejecting the approved dividend policy,” the document says. Its authors emphasize that these measures will contribute to long-term investment planning.
In September 2023, the first deputy chairman of the Bank of Russia, Vladimir Chistyukhin emphasizedthat the current dividend policy of Russian companies is unstable and “impossible under normal conditions.” He criticized companies that enter the market without intending to pay dividends, and called for disclosing information “even if they take on some risks.”
“We see a completely unstable dividend policy, sometimes in a normal situation, I would say, an impossible dividend policy. And in this regard, the question arises: with such an attitude towards placement, why bother posting at all? Why attract? If you think about it this way, then why would you, in principle, enter the financial market with any issues?” – noted Chistyukhin.
Head of the Supervisory Board of the Moscow Exchange Sergei Shvetsov believesthat members of boards of directors must take into account the interests of minority shareholders and bear personal responsibility in case of violation of dividend policies.
Previously, the Ministry of Economic Development developed a project according to which public companies, starting from 2025, will be required to approve and disclose their dividend policy and be guided by it when making decisions on payments. The ministry proposed making appropriate amendments to the law “On Joint Stock Companies” (208-FZ).
According to the Ministry of Energy’s draft, the dividend policy itself will have to contain data on the procedure for determining the size of dividends on shares of each category, the frequency of their payment and factors affecting the distribution of profits. If the shareholders’ meeting deviates from this policy, the decision will need to be justified.
According to current listing rulesCompanies applying to be on the first and second quotation lists of the Moscow Exchange must have a dividend policy approved by the board of directors. For others, its presence is optional.
In 2022, a number of the largest Russian companies, which have followed a dividend policy for many years, refused to distribute profits between shareholders. For example, Gazprom made such a decision, which came as a surprise to investors and negatively affected its quotes. At the same time, some issuers received direct recommendations from the authorities not to pay dividends (for example, Sberbank and VTB).
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