Introduction
This section considers the basic voting rights of shareholders in a company. While at one level the question is relatively straightforward, it is necessary to consider in what manner and for what reason equality is established. This begins with the tenets of attaching rights to the securities being issued and, subsequently, the ability to exercise those rights pari passu with another shareholder that holds the same right (Section 3.5.1). In recent years, Hong Kong has wrestled with the question of weighted voting rights (WVR), that is, where a company issues different classes of equity shares possessing different rights attached to them (Section 3.5.2). These topics require a careful consideration of the relationship between rights exercisable under private law and the means by which those rights may be subject to other considerations arising out of the public nature of the listed market, as well as the relationship between market development and CG standards.