In view of the importance of this issue, it seems vital to us that all remuneration which is paid to the Chief Executive within the scope of the Renault-Nissan alliance be clearly disclosed to the shareholders of these two companies.
Given that Renault is consolidating the accounts with Nissan through the equity method, we wonder why Renault did not notify shareholders of Mr Ghosn’s remuneration at Nissan, as a piece of information that shareholders need in order to consolidate the accounts, within the management report of the consolidated accounts provided for in Article L-233-16 of the French Commercial Code.
In fact, the irreplaceable usefulness of consolidated accounts is undeniable. For shareholders, the information that they contain is often more critical than that provided by the statutory financial statements of the parent company. Noting this, the legislature wished to respond to the law on new economic regulations of 15 May 2001. Consolidated accounts must from now on be approved by the parent company’s General Meeting of Shareholders: "The General Meeting deliberates and decides on all matters relating to the annual accounts and, where appropriate, the consolidated accounts for the preceding financial year".
Furthermore, the shareholder has a right to be kept informed, in order to be able to check on the company’s business affairs and overall corporate governance. This right to have complete information must ensure that the investor has all the elements needed to be in a position to approve the consolidated accounts.
With Renault shareholders deeming it legitimate to obtain all information required for the consolidation of the accounts in the Group's management report, we therefore ask the Board of Directors of Renault, out of a concern for transparency and sound communication, to notify the General Meeting of the remuneration granted by Nissan to Mr Carlos Ghosn in his role as CEO of Renault, for the financial year ended on 31 December 2009.
Furthermore, the Proxy Active Investors SICAV asks the Board of Directors of Renault, as a consolidating company, to complete the information relating to the remuneration and benefits granted by the Nissan Group to the corporate officers and directors of Renault within the management report of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, starting from the 2011 financial year.
