Mercedes 2008 Annual Report Download - page 43

Overview of the Group |Daimler Shares |39
Continued inclusion in important sustainability indices. Our
efforts to organize our strategy and operations also in line with
the principle of sustainability were rewarded by external appraisals
once again in 2008. Daimler’s stock was included for the fourth
time in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), one of the world’s
leading indices of its kind. The Group’s commitment to sustain-
ability was assessed in the areas of economics, ecology, human
resources and social responsibility. On the basis of this assess-
ment, Daimler was placed among the top five companies in the
automotive industry in terms of sustainability. Our ongoing listing
in the DJSI is one of our accomplishments on the way to achieving
more sustainable management. However, Daimler is no longer
listed in the European DJSI STOXX, because that index has been
reduced to include only two companies in the European auto-
motive industry. Daimler will further intensify its efforts in the
field of sustainability.
Daimler Annual Meeting in 2008. Following the change of name
to Daimler AG in October 2007, the first Annual Meeting was
held with the new name at the International Congress Center (ICC)
in Berlin on April 9, 2008. It was attended by approximately
6,500 shareholders. With 42.5% of the equity capital represented
at the Annual Meeting, shareholder representation increased
once again (2007: 39.2%). In the voting on the items of the agenda,
the shareholders adopted the recommendations of the manage-
ment with large majorities.
Comprehensive investor relations activities. Once again in
the past year, the Investor Relations department provided timely
information on the development of the Group to institutional
investors, analysts, rating agencies and private shareholders.
Our communication activities for institutional investors and ana-
lysts included roadshows in the major financial centers of Europe,
North America and Asia, as well as large numbers of one-on-one
meetings. We carried out presentations of the Group at the inter-
national motor shows in Detroit, Geneva, Hanover and Paris.
We regularly reported on our quarterly results and on important
changes at the Group via conference calls and Internet trans-
missions.
Further improvement of Investor Relations website. At the
International ARC Awards for the world’s best annual reports, our
interactive annual report was awarded the prize for the best
online annual report in the Automobiles & Trucks category for the
third time in succession. In addition, we further improved the
entire IR section of the Daimler website in 2008.
Increased number of online shareholders. The popularity of
our electronic information and communication service was con-
firmed once again last year. The number of shareholders regis-
tered in Daimler’s e-service increased to approximately 95,000
by the end of 2008.
Of that total, approximately 80,000 shareholders received their
invitations to the Annual Meeting by e-mail instead of by post last
year, thus helping to protect the environment and reduce costs.
Access to the e-service for shareholders and further information
on it can be found on our website at
https://register.daimler.com.
Kuwait Investment Authority 7.6%
Institutional investors 68.8%
Retail investors 23.6%
By type of shareholder
Shareholder structure as of December 31, 2008
Germany 48.6%
Europe, excluding Germany 27.7%
USA 15.7%
Rest of the world 8.0%
By region
Shareholder structure as of December 31, 2008