The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) has published a Circular Letter on Ad Hoc Disclosure Requirements and Reports on Directors’ Dealings today. Ad hoc reporting requires listed companies to publish any information pertinent to the price according to certain rules without delay; in the case of directors’ dealings, i.e. cases where the management staff acquires or disposes of shares within their own sphere of influence, there are also disclosure requirements to be complied with. In its Circular Letter, the FMA gives its interpretation of new or changed statutory requirements which were brought about by the amendments to the Börsegesetz (BörseG; Stock Exchange Act) and the Wertpapieraufsichtsgesetz (WAG; Securities Supervision Act), as published in Federal Law Gazette I no. 127/2004. “This Circular Letter is the FMA’s contribution to make supervision as transparent as possible and comprehensible to everyone,” says Executive Director Kurt Pribil. “It answers frequently asked questions which came up as a consequence of the implementation of the EU Market Abuse Directive.”
The major changes set out in the Circular Letter regarding the statutory obligations of issuers of listed securities mainly concern the following issues: the concept of inside information is now being interpreted in a much broader sense; the new rules concerning the immediacy of publishing ad hoc reports, which are more stringent, on the one hand, while at the same time strengthening the personal responsibility of the issuer if he intends to postpone the publication for valid reasons, on the other; and the extended obligations regarding the reports on directors’ dealings, i.e. the management staff’s dealings in securities within their own sphere of influence.
In its Circular Letter, the FMA deals with the major changes and explains its interpretation of the statutory provisions, partly by including illustrative examples in order to provide a hands-on interpretation.
For further information please contact
Klaus Grubelnik (FMA Media Spokesperson)
+43/(0)1/24959-5106
+43/(0676)/882 49 516