Website must for shareholders' better access to company info
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
M Azizur Rahman
All listed companies in the bourses or the aspirants to enlist must own websites with updated financial statements to ensure better access to information by shareholders, SEC officials said Tuesday.
The capital market watchdog-Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-recently directed both the country's bourses to make amendments to the listing regulations slotting in the mandatory website provision.
The company websites must also have links with the websites of the stock exchanges.
Both the bourses have already followed the SEC directives by amending their respective listing regulations.
"We asked the bourses to include mandatory website provision to make sure that the shareholders can easily reach company information and take investment decisions accordingly," SEC Member Mansur Alam told the FE Tuesday.
It would reduce the investor's vulnerability to rumors and distorted information, he said.
The amended listing regulation of the bourses say: "The issuer (or company) shall have website where latest financial statements including balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements (annual and interim) should be displayed."
The issuer shall update its website, which would have links with the bourses, relating to annual and interim financial statements and all other price sensitive information within stipulated time, it maintained.
The listed companies at the same time would have to continue to provide the latest financial statements and any price sensitive information to bourses in writing.
In default the companies may face monetary penalty initially, which might lead ultimately to their de-listing from bourses subject to their failure to comply with the regulations following repeated warnings.
Currently, the listed companies provide their financial statements along with any sort of price sensitive information in writing to the bourses.
The bourses subsequently post this information in their websites for information to shareholders.
"This is a very good decision for sound growth of the country's nascent capital market," DSE's newly elected president Shakil Rizvi told the FE.
It would make the listed companies to be more transparent and accountable, he added.
Presently, around 80 per cent of the listed companies have their own websites, said the DSE chairman.
"We will ask those that do not have one yet to launch websites soon," he added.
"This is a very good initiative," said former SEC chairman Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam.
But the companies that do not have websites must be given sufficient time to launch those, Mr Islam, also a former adviser to the caretaker government, added.
DSE immediate-past president Rakibur Rahman also welcomed the decision saying it would restrict the listed companies to conceal any price sensitive information.
All listed companies in the bourses or the aspirants to enlist must own websites with updated financial statements to ensure better access to information by shareholders, SEC officials said Tuesday.
The capital market watchdog-Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-recently directed both the country's bourses to make amendments to the listing regulations slotting in the mandatory website provision.
The company websites must also have links with the websites of the stock exchanges.
Both the bourses have already followed the SEC directives by amending their respective listing regulations.
"We asked the bourses to include mandatory website provision to make sure that the shareholders can easily reach company information and take investment decisions accordingly," SEC Member Mansur Alam told the FE Tuesday.
It would reduce the investor's vulnerability to rumors and distorted information, he said.
The amended listing regulation of the bourses say: "The issuer (or company) shall have website where latest financial statements including balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements (annual and interim) should be displayed."
The issuer shall update its website, which would have links with the bourses, relating to annual and interim financial statements and all other price sensitive information within stipulated time, it maintained.
The listed companies at the same time would have to continue to provide the latest financial statements and any price sensitive information to bourses in writing.
In default the companies may face monetary penalty initially, which might lead ultimately to their de-listing from bourses subject to their failure to comply with the regulations following repeated warnings.
Currently, the listed companies provide their financial statements along with any sort of price sensitive information in writing to the bourses.
The bourses subsequently post this information in their websites for information to shareholders.
"This is a very good decision for sound growth of the country's nascent capital market," DSE's newly elected president Shakil Rizvi told the FE.
It would make the listed companies to be more transparent and accountable, he added.
Presently, around 80 per cent of the listed companies have their own websites, said the DSE chairman.
"We will ask those that do not have one yet to launch websites soon," he added.
"This is a very good initiative," said former SEC chairman Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam.
But the companies that do not have websites must be given sufficient time to launch those, Mr Islam, also a former adviser to the caretaker government, added.
DSE immediate-past president Rakibur Rahman also welcomed the decision saying it would restrict the listed companies to conceal any price sensitive information.