Ms. Maheshwari says she is a hands-on investor who wades through companies’ financial statements. She has become a regular fixture at the annual general meetings of India’s largest firms, such as Reliance Industries Ltd. and Tata group companies, where she often asks for higher dividends and updates on planned projects. To get her message across at these meetings, Ms. Maheshwari has occasionally burst into poem or song about a chief executive or directors. This has left a mark on many. “[She] has been among those shareholders of Tata companies who, though individuals, are an institution,” Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata group told The Wall Street Journal. “For as long as I can remember, she would be the most vocal lady shareholder-speaker in a bastion of men at AGMs. I believe she has inspired many women and youngsters to become engaged investors,” Mr. Tata said. At Reliance Industry’s annual meeting in June, Ms. Maheshwari had a question for chief executive Mukesh Ambani, who earlier this year got Z-level security, the second-highest level of security in India. Standing before an audience of around 1,000 Reliance shareholders and executives, Ms. Maheshwari said that if Mr. Ambani got “Z” security, shareholders should at least get “ABCD,” with A representing appreciation, B for bonus, C for cash, and D for dividends. A Reliance spokesman said in June that Ms. Maheshwari’s and other investors’ demands were pending with the board. He didn’t respond to a recent call for comment. For last fiscal year, Reliance Industries paid a dividend of nine rupees a share.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 23:54:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015