MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2016 ANALYSIS

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Focus Icahn regulatory role gives activist investors voice

S chief executives, already wrestling with a steady flow of activist investors in their board Urooms, face a newly challenging landscape now that the loudest voice of the bunch will have the ear of the next president and his securities’ rule mak- ers. The advisory role granted to billionaire investor Carl Icahn by President-elect Donald Trump is a poten- tial blow to CEOs and board directors who hoped the new Securities and Exchange Commission would favor corporate management teams over shareholder proposals that they deem too friendly to shareholders. Icahn’s appointment, announced on Wednesday, spans all regulatory matters. That includes vetting SEC candidates, a significant boost to shareholder activists who want commissioners to keep corporate gover- Venezuela claim unlikely to convince US nance initiatives on the front burner. While Icahn has spent four decades antagonizing CEOs and boards, the extent of his Washington influence and where he legal strategy switch by Venezuela’s state-owned about alleged malfeasance. “It’s possible this will come break during a 2002-2003 oil strike against late leader will lean on shareholder issues remains to be seen. oil giant PDVSA to portray itself as a victim in a back to haunt PDVSA,” said Mike Koehler, an FCPA expert Hugo Chavez when Rincon’s main firm Tradequip Services Still, it is clear that holding the feet of executives and Amassive bribery scheme detected by the US gov- at Southern Illinois University school of law. & Marine stayed open, winning the approval of authori- directors to the fire of activists is high on his list of pri- ernment is unlikely to lead to compensation and may Foreign officials who accept bribes are not prosecuted ties. He cultivated those relationships, brought Shiera into orities. “We don’t hold our managements or boards even backfire. In a case that shook the local oil industry, under the FCPA but they can be prosecuted for money- the fold, and they began splitting overpriced contracts, accountable enough,” he said Thursday in a CNBC two prominent Venezuelan oil businessmen were arrest- laundering, as happened to three mid-level ex-PDVSA the sources said. interview following his appointment. ed last year in the United States on charges of violating employees in the case. “The greatest risk to the higher- The two had a reputation for being jovial, dressing in Icahn’s strong support of the “universal” proxy card, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Roberto Rincon ups is that the proceeds of the bribery can be traced to luxury brands, and traveling with bodyguards, according a major initiative that activists feared would die in a and Abraham Shiera have both pleaded guilty to bribing bank accounts and frozen,” said Andrew Spalding, an to ex-employees, a half-dozen industry sources, and hotel Trump administration, may help it survive its current PDVSA officials in order to win juicy contracts and are to assistant professor of law at University of Richmond. The staff in the oil-rich city of Maracaibo where they were SEC review. In a contested shareholder vote on board be sentenced in June. The case is part of a wider US DoJ is already chasing the money: $51 million from Swiss originally based. The men threw corporate parties at membership, universal proxy cards allow investors to Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into corruption bank accounts linked to Rincon and Shiera was trans- swanky hotels in Maracaibo and the Caribbean island of pick and choose among all nominees, rather than just at PDVSA. ferred to the United States in October. Aruba, luring top Latin musicians and serving fine being able to vote for an entire slate. Socialist-run Venezuela originally slammed the probes Legal experts say the men may also be offered reduced whiskeys, according to a video of one event, former But Icahn has thrown cold water on other gover- as sabotage by the U.S government, its ideological foe. sentences in exchange for their cooperation in the DOJ’s employees and guests. nance proposals and has yet to voice an opinion on But in a turnaround, PDVSA said in July it was actually a broader PDVSA investigation. Venezuela’s Information But Rincon and Shiera are “the tip of the iceberg,” another key initiative: the SEC’s adoption of a rule “victim of fraud” and its procurement arm Bariven last Ministry, PDVSA, and the pair’s lawyers did not respond to according to a former high-level PDVSA procurement offi- requiring public companies to disclose the ratio of month asked a US court to order Rincon and Shiera to requests for comment. The DoJ declined to comment. cer, who estimated some 250 other companies receive the compensation of their CEOs to the median compensate it for $600 million in losses. The strategy insider information or pay PDVSA employees for their employee compensation. “The question I have is, switch is likely to flop, however, according to legal experts Magnates of Maracaibo help in winning contracts. Venezuela’s opposition parties Which Carl Icahn do we see in this role? Icahn the familiar with the case. Two ex-employees of Rincon and Shiera interviewed say PDVSA has been crippled by financial malfeasance activist, or Icahn the businessman, advocating for the Under the FCPA, money collected from fines and by Reuters said the businessmen hired former PDVSA and blames corruption for some of Venezuela’s deep eco- business community?” said Keith Gottfried, a penalties goes to the US Treasury and appeals for com- employees to help secure kickback-laden contracts for nomic recession. Food shortages and raging inflation Washington D.C.-based partner at law firm Morgan pensation are rare. Allegations of endemic corruption at their dozens of companies that sold everything from have left many families skipping meals. Lewis, who specializes in activist defense. “We will PDVSA are likely to weigh, too, experts believe. While drilling equipment to pipes. They said the kickbacks A congressional probe in October said $11 billion was probably see more of the latter.” cash-strapped PDVSA might be motivated by potential included phones or tablets for support staff and commis- missing from PDVSA, factoring in this FCPA case. “A cor- Icahn’s support of universal proxy cards pits him compensation or a desire to defend itself, the motion sions of 3 to 10 percent for managers, and that Rincon ruption mess that’s this big and now they say no one against the US Chamber of Commerce, a powerful could backfire as the company is more likely to be con- and Shiera directly negotiated with higher-level execu- knew about it? Nobody believes that,” said Elias Matta, an business lobbying arm, and Republican SEC commis- sidered a co-conspirator. The DoJ will probably have to tives. “At PDVSA, everyone wanted to work with Rincon,” opposition lawmaker and vice-president of the energy sioner Michael Piwowar, who believes the rule favors respond to PDVSA, potentially making new revelations said one of the former employees. Rincon got his big and oil commission. — Reuters shareholder activists at the expense of other investors. SEC Chair Mary Jo White outlined the rules in October, but she has said she will leave her post at the end of the Obama administration. With the SEC accepting comments through Jan 9, that leaves only a small win- Last wild forests under threat dow for her to act before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, a prospect most see as slim. “With Icahn playing a role in selecting commis- n a tradition dating to Biblical times, men rise at dawn said Shukri Ismail, ’s minister of environment shot up from around $1 per kilogram to $5 to $7, said sioners, it’s very possible universal proxy cards will in the rugged Cal Madow mountains of Somaliland in and rural development. The Cal Madow mountains, which Anjanette DeCarlo, an ecologist and director of Conserve remain on the agenda,” said Bruce Goldfarb, CEO of Ithe to scale rocky outcrops in search of rise from the Gulf of Aden in sheer cliff faces reaching Cal Madow, an environmental group. The rise in demand Okapi Partners, a proxy advisory firm that represents the prized sap of wild frankincense trees. Bracing against over 8,000 feet (2,440 m), are part of Somaliland, an is the result of stronger marketing in the essential oils activists and companies. Icahn may also have influ- high winds, Musse Ismail Hassan climbs with his feet autonomous republic in ’s northwest. The frankin- industry, which labels frankincense as the “King of ence over the pay ratio rule, which was adopted by wrapped in cloth to protect against the sticky resin. With cense trade is Somaliland’s largest source of government Essential Oils,” DeCarlo said. The dwindling supply of securities regulators in 2015 and set to begin next a metal scraper, he chips off bark and the tree’s white sap revenue after livestock and livestock products, Ismail said. high-quality resin, and competition between exporters, year. Republicans and the Chamber of Commerce bleeds into the salty air. “My father and grandfather were Harvesting frankincense is risky. The trees can grow also are factors. have fought the rule, which is seen as being too both doing this job,” said Hassan, who like all around here high on cliff edges, shallow roots gripping bare rock slith- Now over-tapping is destroying the trees across the favorable to shareholder activists who focus on is Muslim. “We heard that it was with Jesus” (PBUH). ering with venomous snakes. Harvesters often slip and Cal Madow, as tappers try to extract as much sap as possi- keeping executive pay in check. Icahn has not indi- When dried and burned, the sap produces a fragrant tumble down canyon walls. “Every year people either ble and make too many cuts per tree. They also tap the cated his view. smoke which perfumes churches and mosques around break both legs or die. Those casualties are so often,” said trees year-round rather than seasonally, preventing the the world. Frankincense, along with gold and myrrh, was Hassan, adding that he wished he had proper ropes and trees from recovering. “The death rate of the adult trees is Activist Agenda brought by the Three Kings as gifts in the Gospel account climbing gear. “It’s a very dangerous job, but we don’t alarming,” DeCarlo said. “There is potential for regenera- Shareholder activists have launched 670 cam- of the birth of Jesus (PBUH). But now these last intact wild have any alternative.” Once the resin is collected, women tion, but it takes about 40 years or so for these trees to paigns against U.S. companies since 2015 and have frankincense forests on Earth are under threat as prices sort the chunks by color and size. The various classes of become viable for tapping if it’s done right.” placed 213 directors on boards of companies with a have shot up in recent years with the global appetite for resin are shipped to , Saudi Arabia and eventually Officials worry the ancient trade could disappear. market value of $500 million or more, data from essential oils. Overharvesting has led to the trees dying Europe and America. Besides its use as incense, frankin- “Frankincense that the pharaohs were using came from Lazard show. Icahn, known for inviting CEOs he’s tar- off faster than they can replenish, putting the ancient cense gum is distilled into oil for use in perfumes, skin here, so you could imagine it has a history, it has a rich geting to his home and offering them a martini, has resin trade at risk. lotions, medicine and chewing gum. history,” Ismail said. “I’m afraid that we will lose that rich placed nine directors on boards this year alone. “(Frankincense) is something that is literally given by In the last six years, prices for raw frankincense have history.” — AP Icahn’s new role is “probably going to be mildly bad God to humanity, so if we don’t preserve it, if we don’t news” for most CEOs, said Michael Levin, an activist take care of it, if we don’t look after it, we will lose that,” investor and director on the board of Comarco Inc. Levin said he does not expect Icahn to have much interest in changes related to social or environmental activism by shareholders. Once seen as a sideshow, the proposals have often drawn traction since the financial crisis. Measures calling on companies to report on sustainability averaged around 30 percent support from shareholders this year for instance, according to the Sustainable Investments Institute. But critics have pushed back at the ballot ques- tions, often seeing them as nonbinding distractions or unrelated to core business issues and best left for managers to decide. Paul Atkins, a transition adviser and a former SEC commissioner who is one of two leading choices to head the SEC, which regulates how questions can be put on company ballots, has been a steady critic of the trend. In a 2008 speech he referred to “the abusive use of the shareholder proposal process by some institutional investors.” — Reuters

All articles appearing on these pages are the personal opinion of the writers. Kuwait Times takes no responsibility for views expressed therein. Kuwait Times invites readers to voice their opinions. Please send submissions via email to: [email protected] or via snail mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait. The editor reserves the right to edit any submission as In this Aug 6, 2016 photo, a man holds up two large tears of maydi, the large, most expensive chunks of frankin- necessary. cense resin, in Burao, Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. — AP