Annual Report and Accounts 2009 - BG Group

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Shareholder Information
Shareholder information
MANAGING YOUR SHAREHOLDING
BG Group ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange
and trade under the symbol BG.
BG Group’s shareholder register is maintained by our Registrar,
Equiniti. For queries relating to your shareholding, please contact:
Telephone: 0871 384 2064*
+44 121 415 7029 (outside UK)
Email: bg@equiniti.com
Address: Equiniti, Aspect House, Spencer Road,
Lancing, West Sussex BN99 6DA
* Calls to this number are charged at 8 pence per minute from a BT landline.
Call charges from other networks may vary.
BG Group American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are listed on the US
over-the-counter market known as International OTCQX and trade
under the symbol BRGYY.
BG Group’s ADR register is maintained by our Transfer Agent
JP Morgan Chase Bank:
Telephone: +1 800 990 1135 (US Residents)
+1 651 453 2128 (outside USA)
Email: jpmorgan.adr@wellsfargo.com
Address: JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. PO Box 64504,
St Paul, MN 55164-0504 USA
INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR SHAREHOLDING
Shareview, an electronic shareholder communications service from
Equiniti, gives you access to information about your shareholding
including balance movements, indicative share prices and recent
dividend payments. It also allows you to change your registered address
details, set up a dividend mandate or change your existing mandate
details. To register for this free service, visit www.shareview.co.uk
(you will need your shareholder reference number, which can be
found on your dividend tax voucher or on your proxy voting form).
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
The Companies Act 2006 and the Articles of Association of BG Group
allow our website to be used to communicate with shareholders,
provided that shareholders have agreed to this or are deemed to have
agreed to this. Shareholders may receive notification by email or by post
that documents are available to view on the website. Using electronic
communications reduces printing, paper and postage costs and has a
positive impact on the environment.
This year, BG Group is inviting shareholders to confirm how they wish
to receive communications in the future. Enclosed with this document
is a form of election which sets out the choices available. Shareholders
who wish to receive hard copy documents in the future should complete
this form and return it to Equiniti. Shareholders who do not respond
within 28 days will be deemed to have consented to receiving electronic
communication via the Group’s website and will receive hard copy
notification when documents are available to be viewed. Shareholders who
have elected to receive email notifications of availability will continue to
receive communications electronically and need take no action. Shareholders
can revoke such consent at any time by contacting the Registrar.
A shareholder who has received notification of availability of a document
on BG Group’s website is entitled to request, free of charge, a hard copy
of any such document at any time.
The Group reserves the right from time to time at its sole discretion,
to choose to give, send or supply offers, notices, information or other
documents in hard copy form only to some or all shareholders.
VOTING ELECTRONICALLY
All shareholders can submit proxies for the Annual General Meeting
electronically at www.sharevote.co.uk. Alternatively, shareholders who
have already registered with Shareview can appoint a proxy by logging
on to their account at www.shareview.co.uk
www.bg-group.com
DIVIDEND PAYMENTS DIRECTLY INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT
Dividend payments can be paid directly into your UK bank or
building society account on the payment date, and a consolidated
tax voucher will be issued at the end of each tax year. Direct dividend
payments help BG Group improve its efficiency by reducing postage,
printing and cheque clearance costs. To register for this service
please contact Equiniti or download a form from our website at
www.bg-group.com/investorrelations/shareholderservices
and click on Registrar.
If you live overseas, a service has been established to provide
shareholders in over 30 countries with the opportunity to receive
BG Group dividends in their local currency. For an administration fee,
shareholders can have their dividends automatically converted from
Pounds Sterling into their local currency and paid into their bank account.
For further details, please contact Equiniti or visit www.shareview.co.uk
FUTURE DIVIDENDS DECLARED IN US DOLLARS
From September 2010, BG Group will declare its dividends in US Dollars.
However, there will be no change in the currency of dividend payments.
Ordinary shareholders will continue to be paid dividends in Pounds
Sterling, and ADR holders will continue to be paid dividends in US Dollars.
CONSOLIDATED TAX VOUCHERS
Shareholders who have elected to have their dividends paid directly into
their bank account receive one tax voucher each year covering both the
interim and final dividend payments. For those shareholders who have
made such an election, a consolidated tax voucher is enclosed with this
Annual Report and covers all dividends paid during the 2009/10 tax year.
If you have more than one shareholder account in the same name(s) you
will receive a separate tax voucher in respect of those shareholdings in
addition to the one enclosed. Shareholders wishing to receive a tax
voucher in respect of each dividend payment should contact Equiniti.
GIFTING YOUR SHARES
To transfer your shares to another member of your family as a gift, please
contact Equiniti for a gift transfer form. If you have a small number of
shares and the dealing costs or minimum fee makes it uneconomical
to sell them, you may like to donate them to charity through ShareGift,
a charity administered by The Orr Mackintosh Foundation. Please ask
Equiniti for a ShareGift transfer form. Information is also available on
the ShareGift website at www.sharegift.org
BG GROUP PLC CORPORATE INDIVIDUAL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS (ISAs)
Information is available from Rensburg Sheppards Investment
Management Ltd, The Plaza, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool L3 9AB.
Telephone: 0151 237 2160
LOW-COST SHARE DEALING SERVICES
Information on a range of low-cost share dealing services is available
from Equiniti on 0845 603 7037 or at www.bg-group.com/dealing
BOILER ROOM SCAMS
Many companies have become aware that their shareholders have
received unsolicited phone calls or correspondence concerning
investment matters. These are typically from overseas based ‘brokers’
who target UK shareholders, offering to sell them what often turn
out to be worthless or high-risk shares in US or UK investments.
These operations are commonly known as ‘boiler rooms’.
Shareholders are advised to be very wary of any unsolicited advice,
offers to buy shares at a discount or offers of free company reports.
If you receive any unsolicited investment advice:
• make sure you get the correct name of the person and organisation;
• check that they are properly authorised by the FSA before getting
involved by visiting www.fsa.gov.uk and selecting FSA Register; and
• report the matter to the FSA either by calling 0300 500 5000 or
visiting www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk
Details of any share-dealing facilities that BG Group endorses
will be included in BG Group mailings or made available on
BG Group’s website.