Book contents
- The European Corporation
- The European Corporation
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Anglo-Saxon Countries
- Part II Central European Countries
- 3 Austria
- 4 Germany
- 5 Switzerland
- Part III Scandinavian Countries
- Part IV Mediterranean Countries
- Part V European Transition Countries
- References
- Index
5 - Switzerland
from Part II - Central European Countries
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 June 2023
- The European Corporation
- The European Corporation
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Anglo-Saxon Countries
- Part II Central European Countries
- 3 Austria
- 4 Germany
- 5 Switzerland
- Part III Scandinavian Countries
- Part IV Mediterranean Countries
- Part V European Transition Countries
- References
- Index
Summary
This chapter analyses the ownership of Swiss corporations in the last decades. A main finding is that in listed companies, there has been a substantial decrease of the fraction of ownership by the top three shareholders. For example, for the listed companies ranked 21 to 100, the median stake of the three largest shareholders dropped from 42.5% in 2008 to 36.6% in 2018. More generally, the concentration of the disclosed shareholders has decreased. Non-domestic investors hold large stakes in companies listed in Switzerland and have become more important in the largest, most mature companies – not only have their share ownership significantly increased, but they are also more active in exercising their voting rights and in engaging with companies. We also provide some evidence, drawing on a series of surveys of market participants, that these developments, especially the presence and increasing activity of non-domestic investors, have direct implications on the governance practice of companies listed in Switzerland.
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- The European CorporationOwnership and Control after 25 Years of Corporate Governance Reforms, pp. 108 - 148Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023