South Africa: company law reform - the Companies Bill and shareholders' pre-emption rights

It has been reported that Hermes, the UK based fund manager, has criticised the provisions concerning pre-emption rights in the Companies Bill.  Hermes' concerns relate to Section 39 which provides that public company shareholders will only have pre-emption rights if this has been explicitly provided for in the company's memorandum of incorporation. Click here for further information.