Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on January 3 signed a law that simplifies rules for doing business and raising investment by issuers of securities; the law stipulates that a stock exchange listing is the only criterion for a company’s publicity, according to the presidential press service.
“The law solves the problem of splitting Ukraine’s joint-stock companies into public and private ones on formal grounds, as well as eliminates imbalances in legislation and introduces European principles in the definition and regulation of public companies,” it said. In particular, the provisions of the document change an approach to dividing joint-stock companies into public and private ones, and also cancel the norm when a joint-stock company’s type should be mentioned in its name.
The provision that banks should operate only as public joint-stock companies is excluded as well. At the same time, banks working as a private joint-stock company are subject to disclosure of information in keeping with requirements of public companies. Further, the document stipulates increased requirements for corporate governance, in particular regarding the formation of supervisory boards and their committees. The law expands the scope of information for public joint-stock companies and banks, as well as ways of its disclosure, while the publication of this information in an official journal is no longer required.
With regard to private joint-stock companies, the document envisages a reduction in the scope of information subject to disclosure by private joint-stock companies. Moreover, individuals are allowed to provide information services on the stock market along with the National Securities and Stock Market Commission and its agencies. In addition, the requirements to transparency of the activities of joint-stock companies’ supervisory boards and the election of their independent members have been toughened. The law also expands their powers.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada on December 18 passed a draft law to ease rules for doing business and raising investment by issuers of securities. The law introduces requirements of the European directives on corporate governance and company activities to the national legislation, as well as improves provisions regarding the issue of securities, disclosure of information on the Ukrainian stock market and the provision of information services.
