When you become a VE shareholder, you become the owner of a portion of its capital. As at 31 December 2008, VE’s capital stock consisted of 472,5 million shares with a face value of EUR 5, representing a total of EUR 2,36 billion.
As a co-owner of the company, you, as a shareholder, are involved in its development, but also in its risks. These are, however, limited to the amount of your share in the capital, whatever the debts contracted by the company: this is one of the basic tenets of public limited companies.
You can choose to hold your Veolia Environnement shares in a variety of forms
- Bearer shares: these are registered with the financial intermediary of your choice. Under this system, you can combine all of your different shareholdings in a single account. This means Veolia Environnement does not necessarily know at all times that you are a shareholder. However, the company is entitled to conduct periodic surveys to identify the holders of its bearer shares. You will be momentarily identifiable as and when those surveys are carried out.
- Registered shares: these are called “registered shares” because they are actually registered with Veolia Environnement, which means that Veolia Environnement knows you by name, allowing it to offer you a more personalized service.
In fact, registered shares come in two varieties:
- Pure “registered shares”: These are registered and held in your name in Veolia Environnement’s share registry. The company in turn has delegated the administration of this registry to the Custody and Trustee department of the French bank Société Générale, your sole point of contact.
- Administered “registered shares”: These are registered in your name Veolia Environnement’s share registry, but held with your financial intermediary, which administers your account and serves as your point of contact.
Summary of the different forms of ownership of Veolia Environnement shares
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Pure registered |
Administered registered |
Bearer |
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Place of custody |
Société Générale de Nantes. |
Your financial intermediary. |
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Administration and custodial expenses |
No charge for custody and basic administration. |
Variable depending on your financial intermediary's scale of charges. |
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Information concerning Veolia Environnement |
You receive all company documents published for the information of individual shareholders. |
Documents sent on request only. |
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Notice to attend shareholders' meetings |
Notices of Meetings are automatically sent to you by mail. |
Contact your financial intermediary. |
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Admission to shareholders' meetings |
On presentation of your ticket of admission or proof of identity. |
On presentation of your ticket of admission or certificate of participation. |
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Share purchase and sale orders |
To be transmitted toSociété Générale Nantes. |
To be transmitted to your financial intermediary. |
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Annual tax returns |
SG Nantes will send you a special Veolia Environnement tax form to allow you to report dividends received. Ditto for capital gains. |
Your financial intermediary will send you a tax form listing all transactions carried out on your shareholding account in the course of the year elapsed. Ditto for capital gains. |
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Registration in a PEA French equity savings plan |
Impossible. Applies solely to residents in France. Not advised due to complexity of French regulations. |
Possible. |
Yes. |