Norway fund dismisses Myners' UK voting plan

 

The head of Norway's sovereign wealth fund has poured cold water on the proposal made by UK City Minister Paul Myners, that long-term shareholders have more voting rights than those who trade in and out of a firm's shares.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Yngve Slyngstad, chief executive of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which owns 1 percent of the entire London market, said such an arrangement would not work.

"I don't see how that could practically be implemented. One share, one vote is a good principle" he said.

Myners' proposals were aimed at "stimulating debate in the investment industry" on how to encourage and facilitate better stewardship by institutional investors.