Disclosure of Shares: Obligation to Notify

Notifications of investors concerning the exceedance or the shortfall of the threshold percentages in accordance with Article 20 of the Stock Exchange Act in connection with Article 9 ff. FINMA Stock Exchange Ordinance are to be made to the Head of Corporate Treasury.

As at 31 December 2016, 59% of the registered shares have been hold by swiss shareholders. Thereof:

Private individuals: 29%
Institutional investors: 30%

As at 31 December 2016, 41% of the registered shares have been hold by foreign shareholders. Thereof:

Private individuals: 4%
Institutional investors: 37%

As of 31 December 2016, no shareholder or shareholder group had voting rights in excess of 5%. The BlackRock Group, held directly or indirectly by BlackRock, Inc., New York (USA), Norges Bank (the Central Bank of Norway), Oslo (Norway), and the UBS Fund Management (Switzerland) AG, Basel (Switzerland), had voting rights between 3% and 5%.

56 disclosure notifications were filed in the year under review: 52 in relation to the BlackRock Group, held directly or indirectly by BlackRock, Inc., New York (USA), three in relation to Norges Bank (the Central Bank of Norway), Oslo (Norway), and one in relation to LSV Asset Management, Chicago (USA).

Management Transactions

The disclosure of management transactions promotes the provision of information to investors and contributes to the prevention and prosecution of market abuse.

The provisions regarding the disclosure of management transactions impose on issuers to report transactions concluded by members of their board of directors and executive committee in the given company's equity securities, convertible and purchase rights on the company's shares, and financial instruments whose price is materially dependent on the company's own equity securities.

Members of the board of directors and executive committee must report to their issuing company all transactions that fall within the scope of these regulations within two trading days.

GF must submit SIX Exchange Regulation within three further trading days a report that discloses, among other things, the name and function of the individual (i.e. executive member of the board of directors, member of the executive committee, or non-executive member of the board). SIX Exchange Regulation will then publish the report on its Website without the individual's name, however with an indication of the given individual's function.

The significant shareholders are published on the website of SIX Swiss Exchange.