In Focus: Reliance Industries the latest target of shareholder activism?

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the chairman of Saudi oil producer Aramco and the Governor of that country’s sovereign wealth fund, was appointed an independent director on the board of Reliance Industries on July 19 for a period of three years. The appointment has now come up for shareholder vote and the voting process will end on October 19.

Based on the recommendations of influential American proxy advisory company Glass Lewis, the California State Teachers Retirement System (CALSTRS) has decided to vote against Al-Rumayyan’s appointment.

CalSTRS is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world, and the second-largest pension fund in the US, with about $318.4 billion worth of assets under management.