Changes have been made to NewConnect, the alternative trading platform for small and medium-sized companies established on 30 August 2007.
The changes are intended to boost NewConnect's appeal for investors during the downturn in business on the Warsaw Stock Exchange's main trading floor. They include extending trading days until 4.35 pm.
More controversially, the changes also permit the trading of securities in companies against which liquidation or bankruptcy proceedings are pending, but only where those securities were previously quoted on a regulated market, such as the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
To bring standards more in line with those for the Warsaw Stock Exchange, NewConnect is also introducing a Code of Good Practice. Among other things, the Code will recommend that:
- companies seeking a listing on NewConnect should disclose
a balance sheet and income statement (neither of which have
to be audited) covering at least the previous 6 months before
their shares are traded
- companies whose securities are traded on NewConnect
should publish quarterly financial reports, even though there
is no requirement to do so
- companies' half-yearly financial reports contain
specific information as set out in the Code, instead of the
content being at the issuer's discretion
Since its establishment, shares of 52 companies are being traded on this new trading platform, which has become a real alternative to the Warsaw Stock Exchange's main trading floor for small and medium-sized companies.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 29/05/2008.