SEC online plans 'could save millions'

Companies in the US could save "hundreds of millions of dollars" if financial regulators allow them to publish information on shareholder voting issues on the internet.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to announce tomorrow that public firms should be allowed to give proxy statements to shareholders over websites rather than by regular mail, the Financial Times reports.

Proxy statements set the agenda for annual shareholder meetings. US firms spend an estimated $1bn on printing these and annual reports to shareholders.

The plan, which would not unfold until 2007, could give shareholders more opportunities to elect candidates for board membership as the cost of publishing such information would be likely to fall.