南非股市的投资者在新获得对薪酬进行有约束力投票权的早期阶段面临考验——当Shoprite Holdings Ltd.（斯佩尔特控股有限公司）要求股东批准其首席执行官的另一项数百万兰特激励计划时。
Investors in South African equities face an early test of their new power to cast binding votes over pay when Shoprite Holdings Ltd. asks shareholders to approve another multimillion-rand incentive plan for its chief executive officer.
全球两大股东代理顾问机构——Institutional Shareholder Services（机构股东服务公司）和Glass Lewis & Co.（玻璃路易斯公司）——正敦促非洲最大超市零售商的投资者在其11月6日的年度股东大会上否决针对首席执行官Pieter Engelbrecht（皮特尔·恩格尔布雷特）的新计划，质疑在Shoprite现有激励计划之上反复使用特殊奖励的做法。北美部分大型投资者也表示将采纳其建议。
The world’s two-biggest shareholder proxy adviser services, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis & Co., are urging investors in Africa’s biggest supermarket retailer to reject the new plan for CEO Pieter Engelbrecht at its Nov. 6 annual general meeting, questioning the repeated use of exceptional awards on top of Shoprite’s existing incentive programs. And some of North America’s biggest investors have said they will take their advice.
ISS指出，Shoprite未能提供足够有说服力的理由来增加另一项大额激励，并对“反复使用特殊薪酬安排”表示担忧。该机构还建议投资者否决本年度的实施报告，因为薪酬委员会使用了特殊修正，使得短期激励指标即使实际业绩低于阈值目标也全额发放。
ISS said Shoprite hadn’t provided a sufficiently compelling rationale for adding another substantial incentive and raised concerns about “the repeated use of exceptional remuneration arrangements.”It is also recommending investors reject this year’s implementation report after the remuneration committee applied a special modifier that resulted in a short-term incentive metric paying out in full even though actual performance fell below the threshold target.
此挑战正值自南非《公司法》修订后首次出现股东对薪酬的投票具有约束力、并且对负责薪酬的董事可能产生更大后果的年度股东大会季。
The challenge comes during the first AGM season since changes to South Africa’s Companies Act made shareholder votes on remuneration binding and increased the potential consequences for directors overseeing pay.
迄今为止，投资者鲜有反对的倾向。根据普华永道的数据，在最新一年中，约200家约翰内斯堡上市公司中，薪酬实施报告的平均支持率上升至89.6%，即使CEO薪酬中位数上涨了9%，几乎是通胀率的三倍。
Until now, investors have shown little inclination to rebel. Average support for remuneration implementation reports among the 200 largest Johannesburg-listed companies increased to 89.6% in the latest year, even as median CEO remuneration climbed 9%, according to PwC. That’s almost three times the inflation rate.
Shoprite对其已发布的薪酬报告和股东大会通知之外的内容拒绝置评。
Shoprite declined to comment beyond its published remuneration report and AGM notice.
在Shoprite去年举行的股东大会上，普通投票的支持率为95.61%。2024年的版本仅获得74.3%的支持，低于触发股东参与的75%支持阈值。
At Shoprite’s AGM last year, 95.61% of ordinary votes cast supported the implementation report. The 2024 version received only 74.3% support, below the 75% support level that triggers shareholder engagement.
投资者现在被要求批准一项为恩格尔布雷希特量身定制的长期激励计划，此前另一项一次性计划——所谓的“高管超级拉伸激励”——被估值3640万兰特（210万美元），首席财务官安东·德布鲁因则为1420万兰特。
Investors are now being asked to approve a bespoke long-term incentive for Engelbrecht after another one-time plan — a so-called executive super stretch incentive — was valued at 36.4 million rand ($2.1 million) and Chief Financial Officer Anton de Bruyn 14.2 million rand.
在最近一个财年，恩格尔布雷希特的总薪酬增长了35%，达到1.178亿兰特，其中包括该激励计划。一些全球最大的投资者表示他们将投反对票。
Engelbrecht’s total earned remuneration rose 35% to 117.8 million rand in the latest financial year, including the incentive plan. Some of the world’s largest investors have said they will object.
佛罗里达州退休系统州管理委员会、加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚投资管理公司、加州公共雇员退休系统、基督教兄弟投资服务公司和加州州立教师退休系统等均已表示将投票反对这项新激励计划。
The State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System, Canada’s British Columbia Investment Management Corp., the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Christian Brothers Investment Services Inc. and the California State Teachers Retirement System are among those who have indicated that they will vote against the new incentive.
隶属于纽约市审计长、管理约3260亿美元资金的基金表示将投票反对这两项薪酬提案，挪威最大的养老金公司KLP也将如此，该公司管理着900亿美元资产。
Funds falling under the New York City Comptroller, which oversees about $326 billion, indicated that they will vote against the two remuneration proposals as will KLP, Norway’s largest pension company with $90 billion under management.
这些机构虽然只持有Shoprite的小额股份，但合计管理着近2万亿美元资产。至少四家投资者表示，他们还将投票反对薪酬报告。
While holding small stakes in Shoprite, the institutions together oversee almost $2 trillion. At least four of the investors said they will also vote against the remuneration report.
Shoprite公布了强劲的业绩，在截至6月的财年中，其股息和剔除一次性成本后的每股收益均增长约12%。其股价今年已上涨26%，使其成为由七只成分股组成的富时/JSE个人护理、药品和杂货店指数中表现最好的股票。
Shoprite has posted strong results, with its dividend and earnings per share excluding once-off costs both rising about 12% in the year through June. It shares have climbed 26% this year, making it the top performer on the seven-member FTSE/JSE Personal Care, Drug and Grocery Stores Index.
据ISS称，非洲最大的基金管理公司公共投资公司是该公司的最大股东，但已在董事会任职35年的亿万富翁克里斯托·维泽通过其普通股和另一类递延股控制着约41%的投票权。
Public Investment Corp. Africa’s biggest fund manager, is the largest shareholder in the company but billionaire Christo Wiese, who has been on the board for 35 years, controls about 41% of the voting rights through his ordinary shares and a separate class of deferred shares, according to ISS.
威斯是Shoprite薪酬委员会的成员，他为该奖励方案进行了辩护，称公司已为这笔额外激励提供了足够有说服力的理由，且该决定经过了委员会及其顾问的审慎考虑。
Wiese, who sits on Shoprite’s remuneration committee, defended the award, saying the company had provided a sufficiently compelling rationale for the additional incentive and that the decision had been carefully considered by the committee and its advisers.
“这不是两秒钟就能决定的事情，”他说，并称委员会的独立董事和顾问“非常出色”。威斯还将恩格尔布雷希特与前Shoprite首席执行官怀蒂·巴松进行了比较。回忆起自己当年对巴松薪酬批评的回应，威斯说，他愿意为每一位像巴松那样水准的高管“乐呵呵地支付10亿兰特”。
“This isn’t something that was just decided in two seconds,” he said, describing the committee’s independent directors and advisers as “extremely good.”Wiese also compared Engelbrecht with former Shoprite CEO Whitey Basson. Recalling his response to criticism of Basson’s remuneration, Wiese said he had been willing to “happily pay a billion rand” for every executive of his caliber.
“如果这适用于怀蒂·巴松，那同样适用于彼得·恩格尔布雷希特，”威斯说。
“If that applied in the case of Whitey Basson, it applies as much to Pieter Engelbrecht,” Wiese said.