SECURITIES (DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS) BILL 1988
The Financial Secretary moved the Second Reading of: 'A Bill to require
certain persons holding shares in or debentures of listed companies to
disclose.their interest in those shares or debentures'.
He said:
le
сыр
cap
sir,
the
Though the
In June 1987,
the Government published
Securities (Disclosure of Interests) Bill as a white bill
for public comment. During the three-month consultation
period that followed, submissions were received from 29
business and professional organisations.
submissions concentrated mainly on points of detail, all
indicated general support for the principle of disclosure.
We have considered carefully all the points raised and have
made a few minor changes to the original proposals
contained in the white bill. I shall come back to some of
the more significant points later.
für
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The Bill now before this Council follows closely
lnited Kingdom the relevant provisions of the Companies Act. It has
five main features. First, it forces
forces disclosure
of
cent shareholdings of 10 or more within five days of the duty
cer cent
arising. Once a substantial shareholding has been
notified, any change of 1 or more must also be notified.
The aim is to look through corporate interests to get at
the reality of controlling shareholders. Failure to comply
with the disclosure obligations attract heavy penalties
upon conviction.
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