by Aerielle Rose B. Mendiola

The Capital Markets Integrity Corporation (CMIC) held its annual Trading Participants' Seminar last April 5, 2019 at The City Club, Alphaland Makati Place, Makati City.

With a record of 174 attendees and 85% of the trading participants present, the one-day seminar covered discussions on pertinent provisions of the CMIC Rules and the Securities Regulation Code and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, as well as the Securities Borrowing and Lending Rules, Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Revised Corporation Code.

The morning session commenced with a discourse on common audit, surveillance and investigation findings of the core departments of CMIC for the years 2018 to 2019. These findings were briefly discussed by Atty. Jose Martin General, AVP and Head of the Investigation and Enforcement Department of CMIC.

Subsequently, Atty. Teresita Herbosa, Former Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), thoroughly presented the salient points of the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines.

The last topic for the morning session focused on the Guidelines on Philippine Depository and Trust Corporation (PDTC) Lending Agency Service for the Philippine Stock Exchange's Securities and Lending Program. Ms. Ma. Theresa Ravalo, the COO of PDTC, comprehensively explained the provisions thereof.

The afternoon session started with Atty. Allan Julius Azcueta, Legal Officer III from the Anti-Money Laundering Secretariat, who methodically discussed the 2018 Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, together with the results of the 3rd Round of Mutual Evaluations

Thereafter, representatives from SEC, i.e., Atty. Jose Aquino, Director of Enforcement and Investor Protection Department; Atty. Alfonso Lanuza, Jr., Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-Money Laundering Division; and Atty. Sheara Lupangco-Tamayo, Officer-in-Charge of Special Operation Division, talked about the new requirements relative to the General Information Sheet (GIS).

Before the end of the program, CMIC launched its first "CMIC Integrity Seal Awards", which will be awarded to select trading participants. Similarly, the "Best Associated Person" will be awarded to certain associated persons. The criteria for both categories, covering the period from January 2019 to December 2019 will be posted at the CMIC website. CMIC intends to announce the results and to present the awards during the next Trading Participants' Seminar.

Caixin | 12 November 2018

Chinese authorities have eased limits on share buybacks by listed companies and promised preferential policies to help them meet their fundraising needs, as part of their latest efforts to stabilize the stock market.

Any company whose stock price has fallen below its book value per share or has dropped a total of 30% within 20 consecutive trading days will be allowed to buy back its shares, according to a statement jointly released Friday by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), Ministry of Finance and the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the agency that oversees state-owned enterprises.

To encourage share buybacks, the government lifted a restriction on the time period companies must wait between two refinancing deals, if they had repurchased their shares and the amount of funds they intend to raise in the second refinancing plan is no more than 10 times of that of their share repurchases over the last 12 months. The standard refinancing interval is at least six months, according to the CSRC's rules. It also promised to treat refinancing applications by these firms favorably.

It "aims to improve the intrinsic stabilization mechanism of the capital market and facilitate its' long-term healthy development," the statement said.

Previously, share buybacks were only permitted when companies wanted to reduce their registered capital, reward employees by granting them stock, merge with another firm that holds a stake, or when a shareholder requested their shares be purchased because they object to a resolution put forward by the board regarding a merger or division of the company. A revision to the Company Law passed late last month by the country's top legislature, the National People's Congress, added more circumstances in which share buybacks are allowed, including the need to "protect the company's value and shareholders' interests."

The statement released by the CSRC and the other government agencies provides details on how the amendments to the law will be implemented.

The conditions for share buybacks listed in the statement were loosened from proposals put forward in previous government discussions, which allowed share buybacks only if the stock price has declined to below 80% of the company’s book value per share or has lingered at a level lower than 90% of the book value per share for 20 straight trading days, Caixin learned.

Source: Caixin

Link: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2018-11-12/china-reveals-new-share-buyback-rules-in-latest-move-to-stabilize-market-101345872.html