Securities

SIX Exchange Regulation, the regulatory body of the main Swiss stock exchange, has confirmed plans to overhaul its regulatory listing standards. The sub-division into Main Standard and Domestic Standard will be abolished and issuers may choose between an International and a National or Swiss Standard. The only major difference between the two new regimes will…

As the free flow of funds in and out of China is still regulated by the Chinese government, the Chinese financial market is basically closed to foreign investors. Although there are visible steps towards opening China’s tightly controlled capital markets, the length of time it will take for China to fully open up its financial…

On 1 March 2014, SIX Exchange Regulation’s revised Directive on Delisting came into force. The introduction of a shareholders’ right to challenge the period set between the delisting announcement and the last day of trading is probably the most significant change. Such period may be set by the SIX Exchange Regulation between 3 and 12…

One of the key changes of the new Swiss laws on market abuse that entered into force on 1 May 2013 was the introduction of administrative law rules on insider trading and market manipulation which apply to all market participants. As a result thereof, Swiss publicly listed companies should, among other things, revisit their current…

Starting 6 October 2014, securities tradable on SIX Swiss Exchange and SIX Structured Products Exchange and settling through the Swiss central securities depository SIX SIS will settle after two business days. By René Bösch/Benjamin Leisinger (Reference: CapLaw-2014-12)

On 29 July 2013, the Federal Supreme Court decided on article 9(2) SESTO-FINMA, one of the provisions whereby FINMA intended to implement the regulation set forth in article 20 SESTA on disclosure duties for substantial positions in companies listed in Switzerland. The Federal Supreme Court ruled that article 9(2) SESTO-FINMA has no legal basis in…

In CapLaw-2013-14 the editors of CapLaw commented on the draft ordinance (the Draft Ordinance) for the implementation of the constitutional initiative against excessive compensation (the Minder Initiative). Following the end of the consultation period for the Draft Ordinance, the final version of the “Ordinance against Excessive Compensation in Listed Companies” (Verordnung gegen übermassige Vergütungen bei…

The ordinance implementing the Minder Initiative also introduces new criminal offenses in connection with certain specific and now illicit compensation payments to certain senior persons associated with a listed company. The affected compensation payments encompass: severance payments, payments in advance and commissions for certain M&A transactions. This article endeavors to shed more light on scope…

In June of this year, the European Commission issued non-binding recommendations inviting member states to introduce collective redress mechanisms at the domestic level. In addition, key EU member states have already implemented or are currently considering introducing class action legislation. This article provides an update on pending proposals towards a EU class action system and…