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We are registered before the Junta Comercial do Rio de Janeiro,
JUCERJ, under n. 3330026237-7. According to section 2 of our
by-laws, our main corporate purpose is to exercise control
of Empresa Brasileira de Telecomunicações S.A.-
Embratel, and of its subsidiaries. There are no provisions
in our by-laws with respect to (i) a director's power to vote
on proposals in which the director is materially interested,
(ii) a director's power to vote compensation to him or herself
in the absence of an independent quorum, (iii) age limits
for retirement of directors, (iv) required shareholding for
officer ("diretor") qualification, (v) anti-takeover
mechanisms or other procedures designed to delay, defer or
prevent changes in our control, or (vi) disclosure of share
ownership. On the other hand, Brazilian Corporate Law requires
ownership of shares in order for a person to qualify as director
("Conselheiro") of a "Sociedade Anonima",
which is our case.
Our issuance of Commercial Paper, and our incurrence of certain
material obligations, shall be preceded by approval from our
Board of Directors, according to the provisions set forth
in section 17 of our by-laws.
Our capital stock is comprised of preferred shares and ordinary
shares, all without par value. At December 31, 2000, there
were 210,029,997,060 outstanding preferred shares and 124,369,030,532
outstanding ordinary shares. Our share capital may be increased
by resolution of the board of directors, up to the limit authorized
by the by-laws. Any increase in the authorized capital must
be approved by shareholders' vote.
Our preferred shares are non-voting, except under limited
circumstances, and are entitled to a preferred, noncumulative
dividend, and stand in a senior level compared to our ordinary
shares in the case of liquidation. Under the Brazilian Corporate
Law, the total number of non-voting shares and of shares with
limited voting rights, such as our preferred shares, may not
exceed two-thirds of the total number of shares of a company.
The members of our board of directors were elected by our
controlling shareholders. Board members, even if elected by
one specific shareholder, have fiduciary duties towards us
and all of their respective shareholders.
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