The Securities & Futures Commission today published its conclusions on proposals concerning initial public offering sponsors.
The commission has refined a number of original proposals while adopting most of the key reforms, which aim to ensure that sponsors thoroughly understand any company aspiring to access Hong Kong's public capital markets before a listing application is made.
The commission recommends the law should be clarified so sponsor firms have civil and criminal liability for defective prospectuses; and criminal liability should depend on whether a sponsor firm knowingly or recklessly approved a prospectus containing an untrue statement which was materially adverse from an investor’s perspective.
"The changes, along with a streamlined regulatory process, will incentivise sponsors to raise standards, pick the right deals and manage them well which should in turn reduce risks for investors and all those involved in offering," the commission's Chief Executive Officer Ashley Alder said.
The new requirements will apply to listing applications submitted on or after October 1 next year.
Click
here for details.
