Mea culpa

Previously I had said that shareholders are not company owners, as their involvement is limited to a share of the capital they are only stakeholders. My argument is based on the assumption that shareholders own stock, not the company. As most shareholders bought their stock on the stock market they are only secondary holders and have not contributed capital to the company, as did the primary holders.

Well blow me down with a feather, the ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations clearly state that

The rights of company owners, that is shareholders, need to be clearly recognised and upheld - Principle 6.

Now I know that these Principles are not enforceable

The ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Recommendations are not mandatory

however, if a Company states that they have incorporated these principles into their own Corporate Governance shareholders (ie owners) can expect that these principles have been followed.

The ASX Guidelines are well worth reading, especially for owners.