There are two basic types of shares:
registered shares which are made out
to the owner's name and bearer shares,
where the holder of the share in the corporation
is unknown but can nevertheless enforce his rights as a shareholder. Shares can have other properties
as well.
Standard registered shares
Owners of registered shares are entered in the share register of the company in
question. This means that the company knows the names, dates of birth and addresses of its
shareholders and the number of shares
purchased. This gives the company an overview of the ownership of its shares and it is
able to contact shareholders directly. When an investor buys shares, the investor's bank is required
to provide the company with information on the new shareholder promptly.
Registered shares with restricted transferability
Registered shares with restricted transferability can only be transferred with the approval of the company's
board of directors. The advantage for the company is that it knows who its
shareholders are. Moreover, the articles of association may stipulate circumstances in which entry in
the share register may be refused.
Voting shares as registered shares
In the absence of any specific provision in the public limited company's articles of association,
shareholders' voting rights are based on the total
nominal value of the shares owned by the
shareholders. Voting shares allow a company to depart from the equal distribution of voting rights.
These shares confer greater voting powers in relation to their capital share. The nominal value of voting
shares may not be less than one tenth of that of the other shares.
