The Ministry of Finance in late November issued a circular guiding the disclosure of information on the securities market.
Under Circular 96/2020/TT-BTC, which will replace Circular 155/2015/TT-BTC from January 1, 2021, entities obliged to perform information disclosure include public companies; bond issuers; institutions carrying out initial public offering (IPO); corporate bond-listing institutions; securities companies and securities investment fund management companies; Vietnam-based branches of overseas securities companies and investment funds; Vietnam-based representative offices of foreign securities companies and fund management companies; and public funds and public securities investment companies, among others.
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| A trading session at the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange__Photo: VNA |
The Ministry requires these entities to disclose their information in an adequate, accurate and timely manner. Information to be disclosed includes valid citizen or people’s or military identity card details, valid passport details, contact and permanent residence addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, securities trading or depository account numbers, bank accounts and transaction codes of overseas investors.
Foreign institutions in which foreign investors own more than half of charter capital can only disclose information after obtaining such investors’ approval.
Information disclosure of an institution can only be performed by its at-law representative or an authorized person while that of an individual may be carried out by such individual himself or by an authorized party.
Disclosing entities or individuals are responsible for preserving and storing disclosed information and ensure that regularly disclosed information and information about registration of public companies are stored both in the documental and electronic forms for at least 10 years. These information may be stored and accessed to websites of disclosing entities for at least five years.
Statements must also be published on websites of the State Securities Commission, stock exchanges, local media and others.
Under the new regulation, at least 21 days before its General Shareholders’ Meeting is inaugurated, a public company is required to announce the meeting on its website and websites of the State Securities Commission and related stock exchange. Such an announcement must provide links to notice of invitation, agenda, votes, other materials for use in the meeting, and draft resolutions on issues discussed at the meeting. Meeting documents must be updated when there are any changes.
Any extraordinary event of a public company must be disclosed within 24 hours. Such an event may be the freezing of the company’s bank account at a commercial bank or foreign bank branch at the request of a competent agency or when an institutional payment service provider detects signs of fraud or violation related to such account, or the account’s operation resumption after being frozen, amomg others.- (VLLF)
